A Certain Accelerated Light
by Maderfole
Summary: Inspired by characters and events from Darkbetrayers A Certain Infinite Possibility. Romance/adventure/smut between Accelerator and Bayloupe, and potentially others, along with plot exploration of England and how New Light fits into their homeland in the wake of the failed coup for Carissa they helped start...
1. Hit the Ground Running

**Author Intro:**

 **The events of this story, and the characters within it, are completely inspired and drawn from Darkbetrayer's incredible fic, A Certain Infinite Possibility. In my opinion, the greatest story in this fandom, and one which led me to really enjoy the Index/Railgun storyline, above and beyond what I originally saw in the animes. The setting of this particular fiction is similar to the Omake's Dark puts in from time to time, so it happens at some nebulous future point after the current point of the main storyline. It will reference things that happened in Seasons 4 and onward of his fic, so beware of spoilers if you haven't read that far.**

 **This is meant to be a slower paced romance between Accelerator and Bayloupe, with eventual lemon scenes, but there will also be a more regular plot as well, as I explore what England is like for New Light in the wake of their participation on the wrong side of the coup of Princess Carissa. Also, exploring some of Bayloupe and New Light's past, which will get pretty dark at times, I warn you. I'm making a lot of assumptions and may tread across canon I haven't read yet, if so, forgive me but I'm having fun with my plot instead. I also do plan to eventually introduce other characters from ACIP, and may even explore a harem for Accelerator, though probably not in the same way Touma's is looking to develop.**

 **Though inspired by Dark's work, I didn't actually consult with him on anything in this fic, so there may be some treading over his own canon as well. But that's the fun of fanfic.**

 **I use CAPS for either strong emphasis on a single word or phrase, or to indicate raised voices. Hopefully should be obvious which is which. Italics are used for internal thoughts. My writing is in third person, with a bit of head hopping from time to time, though usually a scene is focused around one character's perspective over others.**

 **The story is M rated. Expect blood, gore, swearing, violence, dark pasts, sex of many varieties, and perhaps even some fetishes (maybe I'll even figure out what Accel's was from Guys Night part 1).**

xxxx

Catching herself glancing at her phone to check the time for the fourth time in as many minutes, the tall and leggy silver haired girl leaning against a concrete pillar on the drop off plaza of the Blackpool International Airport sighed in self-exasperation. "There's no need to be nervous." She chided herself, under her breath, hoping that vocalizing the sentiment would help it stick in her feelings. A childish thought perhaps, but she more than many knew well what the power of belief could do in the right circumstances. Alas, there was no spell she knew that could banish the anxious heart string fluttering of a young woman about to meet her crush for the first time in a while.

That mixture of anticipation, nervousness, eagerness and worry had been growing inside her like a lump in her chest just to the side of her heart for several days now and was peaking in the final few minutes before their reunion. Such as it was… it hadn't been THAT long since she left Academy City, once the tempo of the crisis against Eve and the other servants of Lucifer had died down somewhat. In the end, it was still the Capital of Science after all, and no place for any sane magician to want to settle down for long… no matter what sort of intriguing young man might happen to live there. Though speaking of uncomfortable places to live, ever since the failed Coup of Princess Carissa, beautiful England hadn't been quite so welcoming and comfortable for her and her friends as it used to be…

Bayloupe shook her head slightly, banishing those thoughts for the time being. This was supposed to be a happy day after all, a rare opportunity to simple be Bayloupe the girl instead of Bayloupe, leader of the New Light Cabal. And it was supposed to be the start of the well-deserved vacation of her invited guest, Accelerator. A whole week of just the two of them, mostly, with Lessar still lingering in Academy City in romantic pursuit of Touma Kamijou, and Floris and Lancis accepting her earnest entreaties… and copious bribes… to make themselves as scarce as possible for the next seven days. Lessar had been teasing her about it constantly since finding out about the plans somehow, but Bayloupe had ignored her most annoying teammate's taunts… they were rooted as much in jealousy as anything after all, she was sure. Getting that much alone time with Mr. Kamijou was basically impossible after all.

It hadn't been easy, arranging this vacation invitation, of course. Nothing worth doing was, and Bayloupe definitely considered this worth doing. But still, there were a LOT of obstacles she had been forced to deal with. Not least being Accelerator himself, as while there was a lot about him she liked a lot, he was also extremely stubborn and not particularly social, even with the people he liked. And while they acted under the pretense of boyfriend and girlfriend while she was in Academy City, that was mostly a cover story to allow her to stay near him and Last Order during the fighting against Eve. And to explain to the owners of his apartment why she happened to be caught in bed with him after collapsing after the fight against Cain, but that was neither here nor there.

Bayloupe knew that Accelerator liked her, as a friend and as a girl, but getting him to admit that was like pulling teeth at the best of times. In the end, she had couched the terms of the solo trip to England more in the vein of an actual vacation, to get away from the constant daily stress of dealing with Last Order and Misaka Worst, and a working vacation, in that she was offering to tutor him in some types of magic. It both pleased and frightened her that Accelerator was showing interest in magic… pleased because it was an interest they had in common… frightened because he was the strongest scientific Ability User in the world, and him investigating magic was in direct violation of major treaties and agreements. Never mind the risk to his health and life from potential backlash, if the wrong people learned of his ability to refine mana or even cast spells, it was not going to be a small incident!

But Accelerator didn't give a shit about treaties or agreements between Science and Magic, he did what he wanted and made few, if any apologies for it. That sort of self-confidence bordering on or even crossing over into arrogance was definitely one of the things she found hot and attractive about him. All the moreso because so far as she had seen, it was all entirely and completely warranted, unlike most arrogant men. Accelerator really was THAT good, that strong, that talented and that capable. She'd seen that first hand when he fought and somehow defeated the immortal first vampire, Cain, something she would not have expected anyone but a Magic God to be even able to attempt.

But all that aside, she knew how to get Accelerator to agree, using the right words to couch the idea. And apply pressure on him from other angles. That tied in with the second obstacle, which was garnering permission from Last Order. Some might consider it silly to think of asking the young girl that was Accelerator's ward for her permission to hang out with or, in Bayloupe's case, hopefully date, a teenager half a decade older than Last Order appeared to be. But Bayloupe knew better. In all the world, there wasn't anyone or anything more important to Accelerator than Last Order, and in turn, more important to Last Order than Accelerator. It was enough to make a girl feel jealous, if she wasn't aware that the bond was much more familial than it could ever be romantic… despite what Last Order's childish desires might be.

But that was as much from ignorance as anything. Bayloupe still didn't completely understand Last Order's situation, but she had a general idea. And given her apparent mental connection to thousands of teenage girls, including Worst, it was perhaps not surprising that Last Order thought of "love" in the sense of teenage romantic desire, rather than the affectionate family bonding that would be more appropriate to a child of her physical age. She was slowly making progress with helping Last Order understand that while Accelerator did love her, deeply, it was not as a man loves a woman, but like a father loves a child, or a brother loves a little sister.

And helping the young clone come to terms with the concept that even IF Bayloupe was dating Accelerator, it wouldn't mean taking away his attention or affection from Last Order herself. That it wasn't about stealing him away from her, but rather Bayloupe joining in with their already existing dynamic. It was perhaps a bit too advanced a concept for a little girl, even one occasionally wise beyond her years like Last Order, but Bayloupe had confidence it would bear fruit… eventually. It helped that she got on well with Last Order herself and had built up a good bond with her independent of her interest in Accelerator.

In the end, she had to promise to Last Order that the girl could evaluate Accelerator after he returned from the vacation, and that if she determined that he was being "corrupted" or "stolen away" from her by a potential relationship with Bayloupe, that she could nix the relationship without argument from Bayloupe. It was a trifle risky perhaps, but because of her bond with Last Order, Bayloupe felt confident the younger girl would evaluate fairly, not based on her possessive feelings towards her guardian. And for that matter, it wasn't even like it was certain she even WOULD be dating Accelerator after the week was done!

Bayloupe was eighteen and matured enough by life and her own past that she wasn't entranced by "love at first sight" or "soul mates" or the other bullshit drama and angst many teenage girls liked to drown themselves in while going through puberty. A lot of the girls she'd gotten to know in Academy City acted like going out on a date with someone they liked was just a step away from being married to them, instead of a drawn-out process to find if you were actually compatible for a life with that person.

She liked Accelerator, quite a lot, and she was pretty sure he was attracted to her as well, in his way. But she could not honestly say she was in love with him, not at this point, and would expect him to be turned off and weirded out if she did say such a thing. They got along, they felt mutual physical and emotional attraction, but love? To be in love at this stage would be premature at best. Maybe after they'd been dating for a few months, with everything going well, she might be more confident in pronouncing deeper feelings than interest and affection. But not before then.

So, having secured Last Order's blessing, and with her help secured Accelerator's agreement, that just left the regular red tape and issues of getting Academy City's Number 1 out of said city and across the world into one of the bastions of Magic. Fortunately, Accelerator was looked upon quite favorably by the Queen and her followers due to his part in thwarting Princess Carissa's attempted coup, so there was no real interference on their part. There had been some obstructionism from parts of Academy City, but Accelerator had "talked" with some people, as had Jason Kagere, and the city's directors had decided that a mere week wasn't that long after all…

Catching sight of a familiar mop of silvery-whitish hair, and a distinctive high-tech looking cane moving through the crowds of tourists and vacationers that passed through the airport of what was once England's premier vacation hotspot, Bayloupe set aside her brooding on how things had come about, in favor of enjoying it now that it had. She straightened from where she had lounged against the pillar, reaching into the pocket of her skirt to touch a rune card she had hidden within. Said card did little more than send a current of barely perceptible magical energy against whoever she had fixed her eyes upon. It was the magician's equivalent of flicking a spitwad at someone to gain their attention. Immediately, she saw Accelerator turn in her direction, a brief glimpse of his glaring red eyes through the crowd.

"Hey." Bayloupe greeted him simply, knowing that he was likely to be even more irritable than usual after spending ten plus hours aboard a plane, even if he had been in first class. Also, she had a public image to maintain, as a cool and collected beauty. All the girls of New Light aspired to be gorgeous girls at all times, though they each expressed it differently.

"Hey yourself." Accelerator answered shortly, his eyes flicking up and down her figure so fast that if she hadn't been watching for it, she wouldn't have seen anything. She wasn't wearing anything special, just her usual lacrosse style New Light uniform, but Bayloupe well knew how it hugged her body in the right places to make her noticeable to the male gaze.

"Can I help you with your bag?" Bayloupe inclined her head briefly at the small wheeled bag Accelerator was dragging behind him with his non-cane arm. It was barely as big as a large purse, probably containing nothing but a few extra shirts and pants and sets of underwear, and maybe a few toiletries… guys tended to pack light, and Accelerator even more than most, as he would just buy things he wanted wherever he might be.

"It's fine." He replied curtly, almost defensively. Bayloupe took no offense… he was short with everyone. And for a guy so powerful, his day to day condition was probably extremely aggravating to say the least. And for that matter, even if it might be easier for him to walk without the bag, he probably didn't want to appear weak by having her handle it for him. It was silliness… she knew better than almost anyone how incredibly strong he was, and that had nothing to do with his slight frame and untoned build. But guys could be weird about their physical prowess in front of girls they liked.

"Ok. This way then." Bayloupe agreed and set out, carefully measuring her stride so he could easily keep up, without making it look like she was deliberately moving slowly. She was taller than him and had a longer stride after all, but one of several life skills she had picked up was adjusting her gait to blend in better when she didn't want to stand out. It wasn't a long walk, by design, to where she had parked their transportation.

"What the hell is this?" Accelerator blurted out when he saw what they were walking towards. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"It's a motorscooter. Surely you have them in Academy City." Bayloupe answered, allowing just the slightest hint of dry amusement to leak through her tone at his exasperation. A Motorscooter was a road capable version of the electric variety often used to get around large stores or the like, somewhat larger, with an extended seat in this case, capable of handling two people, one right behind the other.

"I can fucking see that." Accelerator snapped, picking up on her amusement at his incredulity, and giving her a side eye glare to indicate he was on a short fuse already. "This is seriously what you drive? I thought you had some class, but this is…"

"Hey now." Bayloupe retorted, not about to let him get away with that sort of comment. "I'll grant you, its not flashy, and its sure not fast. But it blends in well, has great gas mileage, and can be driven just about anywhere, including on the sidewalk if need be. And I can pick it up and carry it up any hill or stair I can't drive up, or take it with me inside instead of leaving it parked on the street or in a yard. It's a completely practical mode of transport."

"It's a fucking scooter. Don't try and dress it up. It's something a little old granny would drive." Accelerator retorted, as he heaved a sigh and started attaching his suitcase to the luggage rack on the tail end of the scooter.

"Yeah, it's pretty shitty, I'll admit. But beggars can't be choosers." Bayloupe dropped the teasing act and sighed in her own exasperation. "New Light used to have a car… but due to certain events, that's been impounded. Along with most of our other assets and the greater majority of our disposable funds."

"Whatever." Accelerator shrugged it away, as he did most things that didn't really inconvenience him. "I just hope your place isn't as shit as your scooter. I came here to relax, not play handyman."

"It's one of our safehouses, so it's not bad. May not have all the top end amenities you're used to from Yomikawa's apartment, but it's perfectly livable, even cozy." Bayloupe climbed onto the seat, and very carefully did not make a big deal about Accelerator climbing onto the pillion seat behind her, even though he had to put his arms around her waist and lean against her back to maintain his balance. Lessar, and a lot of the other younger girls, no doubt would have made some kind of lewd comment or admonishment about minding where he put his hands. But Bayloupe was above such childish methods of flirting. And furthermore knew they would only annoy Accelerator, since that was what Last Order and Worst put him through all the time.

Besides, the sheer fact that she could feel him getting a little warmer just being against her back was more than enough reaction to satisfy her. She knew she was a knock-out, and that most any guy would be only too happy to get their arms around her waist and snuggled against her back like this, even if just for practical purposes. By making no big deal of it, she just made it seem normal and comfortable, which was the sort of maturity she knew appealed to Accelerator. And to herself. That didn't, of course, mean that she wasn't enjoying it a lot. It had been… several years… since she had last been embraced by a young man whom she favored, after all. Even for practical purposes. But she set such thoughts aside as she concentrated on driving back to what was, for now, home.

Xxxx

Accelerator did not pay much attention to the city that Bayloupe was driving them through. Though he would never admit it, he was pretty wiped out by the long flight, even if it had been spent in considerable comfort. He'd done his best to rest, but the jet lag was still fucking with him, just like the last time he'd come here, during the Hero's Golden Week vacation. The airplane coffee had been shit too, which never helped his mood.

Instead he focused on keeping himself in place on the back of the scooter. He had been surprised by Bayloupe's apparent disregard for safety, in that neither he nor she wore a helmet, but given that the piece of shit scooter was barely capable of hitting 60 kph at full throttle, he figured even if they fell off or hit something, they weren't going fast enough to really need them. Especially with her magic and his ability. The semi-warm evening air was rendered cool by the wind of their passage, ruffling his hair as he leaned against Bayloupe's back, his arms around her waist to secure him in place.

This wasn't his first time riding second seat on a motorcycle or scooter, nor even his first time doing so with a girl in his approximate age range. One of the Misaka clones had given him a ride to his fight with the Saint known as Acqua of the Back during the Coup in England last time, which at the time had frustrated the hell out of him. He liked to be in control of his own destiny, and that included being in control of any vehicle he was in, even if he wasn't the one operating it per se. But a Misaka sister was someone he could not bully or threaten into doing whatever he wished.

However, this time, even though he was riding something even more embarrassing than last time, he had made no real protest or attempt to swap places with Bayloupe. Perhaps he was just tired, and for that matter didn't know where to go to reach the place he'd be staying. And perhaps it was that Bayloupe was pretty comfortable to hold onto and lean against, warm and soft and yet also firm. He'd rather swallow a red-hot iron than say such a thing aloud though. _Fuck it, she does make a good headrest though… shit, don't go thinking nonsense like that. This is just a vacation, a chance to get away from the brat and bigger brat for a while. That's all…_

Sooner than he expected, though perhaps some of it was simply having drifted in a contented haze for a bit, he felt the scooter decelerate and then stop. Straightening up, he did not immediately relinquish his grip around Bayloupe's waist. Purely to help maintain his balance since his cane was still stowed, of course. Back in Academy City he would not have done even that, but in Academy City there was always someone watching, waiting to try and embarrass him or make trouble for him somehow. Here in England he was much more anonymous… hopefully.

He looked around with mild interest, seeing that they were somewhat outside the city proper, in a sort of semi-rural area, with lots of trees and gently rolling grassy hills. The city was behind them, a mass of glowing lights edging a long dark strip of ocean, far enough away that the lights were more a diffuse glow and pinpricks of light against a dark backdrop than anything. He inhaled the scent of sea air, freshly cut grass, decaying leaves, and the faint smell of petroleum fuels. It was very different from the scent of Academy City. There was also the warm, lightly floral scent of Bayloupe, subtle but pleasing. Accelerator successfully resisted the brief aberrant urge to lean closer to her nape and get another sniff of said pleasant scent.

He was doing his absolute best not to show it, but inside he was feeling some more of the stomach flip-flopping twisting sensation that he occasionally felt whenever it was just him and Bayloupe alone together. It wasn't exactly something he liked, physically, but at the same time he didn't dislike it either, emotionally. It wasn't something he'd ever really considered in the past for various reasons… either because he could not trust anyone before the Hero set him back on the proper path, or because he didn't feel worthy of anything of the sort afterwards. He still wasn't sure he was worthy of anything like a normal life, no matter what some people might say or think. But… maybe.

Realizing he had lingered perhaps a little too long in his embrace, Accelerator flushed just the slightest bit as he pulled his arms away, finding his cane where it was slung across the back of the bike behind him, and extricating himself from the pillion seat. Thankfully, Bayloupe either did not notice the slightly too long hug, or more likely, decided not to comment. That was one of the things he liked best about her. She knew when NOT to say anything, and not because she was intimidated by him, but because she actually considered how an errant comment might make him feel, or how it would make her seem. Look before you leap, think you before you speak, those were qualities he appreciated, and especially in girls.

The house itself did not seem particularly special, just a two-story wooden and stone structure that looked artificially rustic, like it had been designed to project the feeling of an antiquated building. The walls were painted a neutral brown color, with white siding on the gutters and around the windows and door. There was a small garage to one side of the house, and a medium sized yard in front, edged by a dark brown wooden fence about head high, more for decoration than security. Though his keen eyes did pick up some seemingly random carvings in some of the wooden fence pillars that looked a bit like some magical runes he'd seen Bayloupe draw before.

The place looked well enough kept, if not exactly lived in, very much like a vacation home, or in this case, a safehouse. It wasn't eye catching, but that was half the point after all. "Hnh." Accelerator grunted a mild acceptance, figuring that this place would do, and certainly appealed more than the goddamn scooter had. He saw Bayloupe smile at his mostly nonverbal assessment out of the corner of his eye, and did his best to ignore her slight smugness as he attended to his luggage, again feeling those odd butterflies in his gut.

One thing that definitely did strike him, as Bayloupe opened the fence gate and led him into the yard, hefting the scooter under one arm, was the ambient noise. Or rather, the near lack of it. Living in the most technologically advanced city in the world, he was used to a constant background hum of people and activity, but here there was none of that. Some distant sounds of animals in the woods, the sound of the gentle breeze through the trees, and maybe a hint of ocean surf underneath it all. Other than that, his breathing and footsteps, and Bayloupe's, and that was it. It was almost unnerving, after all the noise he had to put up with normally. But not in a bad way.

"Welcome to New Light's fortress." Bayloupe said in sardonic tones, as she set the scooter in front of the garage door and then opened the front door after unlocking it with a very normal looking key. "Not exactly Hogwarts, I know, but it's a little more than it may seem."

"Not exactly what?" Accelerator gave her a glare of mild incomprehension, before he looked around the entry hallway. There was a mat for cleaning and holding one's shoes, which he made use of, the instinct to discard his footwear upon entering a home engraved into him by Academy City's Japanese culture. The entryway led into a sitting room that was divided by a waist high half wall from a dining area, and from there to one side was presumably the kitchen, and a door out the back side of the house. There was a door to the garage or maybe a utility style room on one side of the sitting room, and on the other side a door to what was probably a bathroom. A stairway in one corner of the room led upstairs, presumably to bedrooms.

"You don't even watch movies that involve magic?" Bayloupe could not help but quirk one eyebrow and her lips at his failure to get the reference, as she watched him look around her home, such as it was. Accelerator felt a strong flash of irritation at her amusement at his apparent lack of some basic knowledge but pushed it aside as he continued to inspect her dwelling. It was… very normal. Wooden floors, light tan carpets, rustic décor with lots of faux wood and microfiber cushions in shades of brown and gold, with occasional hints of red. There was a big, flat screen TV placed along one wall, opposite a couch and coffee table. Just a few hints of clutter here and there on side tables and a coat rack and the like… just one coat on the rack, he noticed.

"I have better things to do with my time than watch silly movies." Accelerated snapped at her, perhaps a trifle more harshly than he meant to be, but he saw that she didn't let it bother her. Another thing in her favor in his internal scorekeeping… she didn't take his foul moods personally. Dealing with other people annoyed the fuck out of him under all but the rarest circumstances, but just because he snapped at you didn't mean he was trying to offend you… most people didn't understand that.

"I'm sure." Bayloupe continued to smile just a little as she kept watching him look around. "I'm afraid if you're looking for the witch's cauldron, the shelves full of dusty spellbooks, or the demon summoning sacrificial circle drawn in chalk and blood, you won't find them here. We may be magicians, but we're not luddites, Accelerator. Nor do we at least, go in for that sort of new-age wiccanism or the like, no crystals or herb gardens or crap like that."

"Didn't say you were." He grunted in reply but took her point all the same. He wasn't sure what he had expected for the home base of a magic cabal, but perhaps it being so normal was a trifle unexpected. "So where are the others then? Lessar is still trying to jump in the damn Hero's pants, I know, but what about Flower, or… what's her name… Lancis?"

"Floris, and she's gonna be mad that you still can't remember her name." Bayloupe smirked wider, clearly amused by his inability to get her teammate's name right. "They do usually live here, you're right, but I asked them to give us some room. They'll probably stop in from time to time to check in with me, but I figure you get enough of a house full of girls back in Academy City, and you might like a bit more peace and quiet."

"Hmph. Well, that's not wrong." Accelerator acknowledged with a smirk of his own. That queasy feeling was back again though, about twice as strong as it had been before. Just him and Bayloupe, alone in the house. No Worst to burst in on them and make all sorts of shitty misunderstandings and lewd insinuations. No Last Order to get the wrong idea about everything and revoke his Network access and leave him lying limp and helpless on the floor. No Yomikawa or Yoshikawa to give him those damn tolerant adult looks like they knew what he was thinking or feeling.

"Take a load off, why don't you." Bayloupe waved at the couch, as she headed through the dining room towards the kitchen. "Your room is upstairs… it used to be Lessar's, but since she's not likely to be back anytime soon, I cleaned it out… thoroughly… and now it's free. Each of the upstairs bedrooms has its own bathroom as well, so don't worry about that, though it may be a little cramped compared to what you're used to."

"Thanks." Accelerator answered, doing his best not to watch her ass and hips as she walked away from him, still feeling that pleasant-unpleasant sense of tension regarding her. Thankfully, Bayloupe did not seem aware of his straying eyes or the uneasiness in his gut. Or, more likely, she was aware but was sparing him by not commenting. He grunted to himself, twitching his lips in an almost grin for a moment, before availing himself of her suggestion, leaving his suitcase by the foot of the stairs as he leaned his cane against the armrest of the couch and plopped himself down on it. First seated, and them after deeming it acceptably comfortable, he stretched out on it, resting his head on one armrest.

Just as he got himself comfortable, he was aware of Bayloupe returning, and looked up as she reached over the back of the couch and lowered a metal cylinder towards his face, almost managing to put it on his forehead before he reached up and caught it. It was chilled, and he was a bit surprised to see the familiar label of one of his favorite coffee brands on the side of the can. "Huh. Didn't know they sold this outside Academy City." He commented, doing his best not to pop the can open and chug it all down in an instant… more than half a day without good coffee was seriously a strain on his nerves!

"They don't. But I had Lessar source a few cases for me and had them shipped over when we finalized our plans." Bayloupe replied casually, earning herself a raised eyebrow from him at her thoughtfulness. "Hey, don't get too big a head, its not just for you." Bayloupe said with a small teasing grin, as she held up a can of her own, which she opened with a snap-hiss of releasing pressure. "I like this stuff too. You have good taste in coffee." She sat down on the couch, just past his feet, as he wasn't big enough to cover the whole thing.

"I have good taste in everything." Accelerator rebutted with a smug grin, opening his own can and drinking deep of the dark, potent brew within. Unsweetened, no real additives, no extra flavors, just a good strong, rich blend, the way coffee should be drunk.

"Uh huh. So, does that mean your taste in friends is exceptional also? I'm sure Mr. Kamijou and the others would be tickled to hear that…" Bayloupe rejoined.

"Fuck you. I better not hear them say anything like that or I'll…" Accelerator trailed off, sighed and took another deep chug of coffee.

"Don't worry. I'm not planning on telling anyone what goes on during our time together." Bayloupe replied, and then perhaps flushed a little and busied herself with her own drink, as Accelerator stared at her for a moment before turning aside himself. _Best not to read too much into that._ He decided, even as he could not help but feel a twinge in his gut again. The uncomfortable silence soon turned into a comfortable one as they both concentrated on the coffee.

When his can was finished, Accelerator felt refreshed, if not exactly energetic… he was so inured to the caffeine hit from the coffee, he'd have to drink a lot more than just one can to feel a buzz. Reaching one hand up to his collar, he idly flicked the switch, just for a moment, restoring his ability to utilize most of his brainpower. He calculated, running the numbers on an equation that would have taken a math guru several minutes to do with a calculator, in a fraction of a second, as he sent his empty can across the room, bouncing off the wall, then the ceiling, then dropping neatly into the wastebasket positioned by the door to the dining room, without even looking at it. It was completely unnecessary, frivolous even, a waste of battery life… but he found himself unable to resist all the same, knowing Bayloupe was watching him.

Snorting in quiet amusement, she finished her own drink, and then tossed the empty can at him, watching it reflect in the same path his own empty had, bouncing across the room and back again before slotting into the wastebasket as if placed there by hand. As a result of his Vector control, there was no Ability User anywhere who had his instinctive sense for directions and velocities and spatial mathematics. He flicked the switch back off, and once more he was just a mortal again, one more vulnerable than most even, still able to think and compute as fast as a computer, but nothing like he should be able to do. But dwelling on what was lost to him was no use either.

He and Bayloupe continud to sit together, simply enjoying the quiet, unspoken companionship, for about half an hour more. Accelerator never even felt the jet lag catch up to him, as he drifted off on Bayloupe's couch. It was to be some of the best rest he'd had in a long time…

Xxxx

Bayloupe awoke at her normal time the next morning, which was fairly early, just after dawn. Accelerator might be there on vacation, but she couldn't afford any true time off at this point in her life. Due to New Light's government troubles and the loss of most of their prior assets and resources as part of their punishment for attempted treason against Queen Elizard… that's what a failed Coup was after all… she and the rest of New Light had to stay active and keep the money rolling in. Of course, helping Necessarius out with the Lucifer Crisis had paid pretty well, and done a bit of repairing their reputation as well, but it was far from enough in either case.

Complicating matters was the far greater amount of oversight she and New Light were being subject to by the relevant authorities. Originally, they had styled themselves as a Cabal Reserve Army, basically an amateur Magic Club, rather than a true professional Cabal. This let them operate mostly unseen and unremarked. But those days were over. After they had excavated and transported Curtana Original for Princess Carissa, they went from off the radar, to on EVERYONE's radar, in big, red glowing letters. If the second Princess had been successful in her coup, they would have been set for life off the payment… well, disregarding the fact that the Princess double crossed them and tried to have them all assassinated after getting Curtana.

Even Bayloupe's sense of patriotism had been… tested… by that, and if Lessar actually had been shot to death with Robin Hood, she didn't like to think what she would have done. Probably gotten herself killed in a messy manner, all things considered. She was nowhere near being in Carissa's league, with or without Curtana. Still, she could not deny a certain sense of resentment, fruitless as it might be. She and New Light had been critical to Carissa's plans, fundamental even, and to be tossed aside like that after doing everything right… such was the fate of commoners getting involved in the games of royalty, it seemed.

But it meant that New Light was in a tough spot now. Princess Carissa was no longer a patron, and those who might still support her were not fond of them either because they were a reminder of that failure and suspected of switching sides to the Queen's faction in mid battle, even for good reason. And of course, while they were officially forgiven and pardoned for their actions by the Queen, as part of Carissa herself being forgiven, unofficially they were considered traitors by the majority of England's magical community. Saying that they were on probation was insufficient to cover the amount of scrutiny they were under, and any hint of illegitimate activity would send a hammer down on them in a big way.

Which was a problem, because New Light was not aligned with the Church of England or the Queen and the Knights but was rather an independent group that had loyalties to England but not any of its major magical institutions. That meant they got most of their work in relatively small contracts from private clients, and often operated in grey areas of the magical and mundane law. That was just where the work was for small time, independent Cabals… all the more legitimate work was locked down by government or Church sponsored Cabals. There was mounting pressure for New Light to join one such larger Cabal, but that would be against everything New Light had been formed for, so they were doing their best to resist it and make ends meet regardless, without getting caught doing anything that could be used as an indictment against them. It was a lot of stress.

But that hardly even entered her mind that particular morning, as she awoke almost fizzling with energy, having slept well and had pleasant and exciting dreams. Accelerator was still asleep downstairs on the couch… she hadn't the heart to move him after he drifted off the night before, simply covering him with a thin blanket for comfort before retiring herself. Though not before sending a few texts to Last Order, assuring her that Accelerator had arrived safely and was doing ok. Her childish protectiveness of him was adorable, especially when exercised from a distance.

Quickly showering and attending to her morning grooming, Bayloupe threw on a carefully chosen "casual" ensemble of black ass-hugging sports shorts that covered to about the top fifth of her thighs and no further, and a fairly tight, dark blue short sleeve workout/running shirt, over a sports bra and regular panties, both grey. Going barefoot for the time being, she headed downstairs, walking as silently as possible past Accelerator, knowing how keenly attuned his senses were, and how lightly he slept. Fortunately, he seemed to either be tired enough not to notice her, or perhaps had already tuned her out as non-threatening, because he did not stir.

Resisting the urge to get a look at him, as he was quite cute when he was senseless and content in his sleep, but not wanting the awkwardness of him waking up to see her watching him, Bayloupe headed for the kitchen. She put on a pot of real coffee… investing in all the canned drinks, plus several mixes of real coffee beans had been a significant cash outlay for her, but she knew it would be worth it to see the look on his face. Plus she liked good coffee herself, so it was a personal pleasure as well. Then she began making breakfast… eggs, bacon, muffins and fruit.

After a few minutes, once the coffee was steaming and the bacon was just starting to sizzle, she felt a presence behind her in the kitchen doorway. She knew who it was, having heard the dull thump of the cane on the floor, so she remained engrossed in her cooking, lightly swaying her hips back and forth as if lost in thought. Of course, none of this was an accident, not her attire, not her position, not the food she was cooking, none of it. Bayloupe had her goal after all, and that goal was to make her relationship with Accelerator official. Demonstrating some of the advantages to that relationship was just common sense.

Coming onto him directly might work… but stood a greater chance of making him uncomfortable and making him withdraw into his shell. His power was so great that he had lived heavily isolated from others for most of this life. Attempting the direct route would just trip his sense of being sucked up to or being seduced for her own purposes, and that was not the sentiment she wanted to evoke. That was the flaw, she felt, in Lessar's approach to her romance with Kamijou, after all. Neither Accelerator nor Kamijou were looking for a simple booty call or sex friend or the like, they wanted a partner they could trust to care for them despite their difficult lives.

Much better to entice him with slowly increasing intimacy, perhaps even make him make the first move, though she doubted that would happen. But eventually the right moment would arrive when the mood was just right, and she could move in closer… and from there, well, best not to make too many plans at this stage, but she had prepared for most scenarios, including some that might give even Lessar some pause for thought. For now though, perhaps some more light teasing and banter…

"Sleep well?" She asked, finally turning her head to glance at her houseguest where he was leaning against the doorway into the kitchen. She managed to do so quickly enough to catch the slightly widened state of his eyes and the faintest hint of a red blush on his very pale skin, and Bayloupe smiled inwardly. She already knew he found her attractive. But it never hurt her self-esteem to have it reconfirmed. And aside from the Succubus outfit on Halloween, this would be the most revealing outfit she'd worn in front of him… and this showed off more skin than that had.

"Hm… yes, it wasn't bad." Accelerator answered her, a frown etching itself onto his lips as he realized he had been caught in the last seconds of staring at her in her workout outfit. Once again though, Bayloupe was clearly going out of her way not to comment on such things, either to spare him embarrassment or for her own purposes, or both. He was starting to get the hints of what her game might be, but he still didn't know enough to be able to turn the tables on her yet, so all he could do was continue to watch and take notes.

"Breakfast will be ready in a bit. You still like your bacon crispy right?" Bayloupe went on, continuing to bustle around the stove and lightly sway her hips from side to side, as if rocking to the beat of a song only she could hear. She knew that Accelerator did like his bacon crispy, indeed he liked his toast almost burnt and his eggs somewhat dry… he had something of a horror of undercooked or raw food, perhaps not surprising given Last Order's enthusiastic but incompetent efforts at making meals for him. Better too much cooking and loss of flavor than not enough cooking and bowel problems for the rest of the day.

But meaningless friendly conversation was one of the standbys of a good relationship, Bayloupe felt. Of course, being able to hold deeply meaningful conversations about personal and intimate topics was required as well. But being able to talk about nothing, repeatedly and contentedly, was an often disregarded necessity for a long term relationship. "As if you don't know what I like." Accelerator was not the best at casual or meaningless conversation, but perhaps he could be trained. With effort.

But if he wouldn't engage in regular domestic conversation, he had given her a good opening for banter. "I do know what you like." Bayloupe acknowledged and gave him another side eye glance over her shoulder. "And it seems you like my choice of outfit this morning as well, eh?"

"Why are you wearing that anyway? Never seen you dress like that before." Accelerator avoided anything that might sound like a compliment, out of habit as much as anything, but his interest in the topic was telling on its own.

"In Academy City I was on business, working an official job for Necessarius. So, I wore New Light's uniform most of the time, and then whatever else I needed to in order to properly blend in with the environment." Bayloupe replied with a careless shrug that made her tight shirt do some interesting things with her chest no doubt. "Now that I'm home again, and no longer on contract for a major client, I can dress more casually. Besides, I'm going for a run after breakfast. A girl's gotta maintain her figure after all, right?"

 _There's nothing wrong with your figure._ Accelerator didn't say that, of course, but the once-over his eyes gave her again might as well have spelled the words out. With the food done, Bayloupe turned off the stove and divided the food onto two plates, and then gestured with her head for Accelerator to take a seat at the kitchen table. Once he was seated, Bayloupe sat across from him, after pouring them both a big cup of fresh brewed real coffee. There was a seat open next to him, but the mood wasn't right for such an intimate position, she judged. It would raise his barriers to be approached so soon even if secretly he might not mind it.

Breakfast passed in silence, but it was a comfortable one again. Yet another thing that Bayloupe judged to be critical but often forgotten about in a mature relationship… the ability to simply be with the person you liked, without talking or even doing anything special. To just enjoy their presence without garnish or activity. And especially so for someone like Accelerator, being able to enjoy the silence was going to be necessary. And for someone like herself… she loved her teammates to death of course, but dealing with three younger teenage girls and their attending drama all the time was a bit wearying, to say the least.

Accelerator surprised her by getting up unbidden to wash the dishes and cups after they were done, a fierce eyed glare his only response when she opened her mouth to tell him that it wasn't necessary, as he was a guest. But Accelerator played by no rules except his own, and while he rarely did domestic chores in his own home without being pestered about it by someone, clearly he wasn't averse to doing them when he wanted to, for whatever reason. Probably just to make himself feel like he wasn't being pampered by her entirely.

After cleanup, Accelerator took his bag upstairs to the room that had been cleared for him, finding that despite its original providence as Lessar's room, Bayloupe had indeed been thorough in cleaning it up, so that there was no evidence of her prior girly presence or more importantly, any of her perversities. Upon returning to the downstairs main room, Accelerator found himself stopping short on the final step once more, frozen as he saw what Bayloupe was doing.

Having retrieved her running shoes, she had started doing some warm up stretches in the main room to prepare for her run/jog. Which was a sensible action, Accelerator could not deny… in those times when he had been forced to do physical therapy after his gunshot wound, he had always regretted it if he did not warm up beforehand, despite his disdain for most physical exercise. But his own half-hearted motions were a far cry from the scene that Bayloupe presented, in her tight shirt and short shorts that barely covered the tops of her thighs as she bent and leaned and stretched and contorted her well developed body through its paces!

She wasn't looking at him, she had her back to the stairs, but Accelerator knew this was no accident. She was putting on a display for him, and while it wasn't a traditionally erotic one, as she was sensibly dressed for her chosen activity, that sensible dress was still pretty revealing! For the first time in a long while, he felt a bit of a stirring inside his own pants, but thankfully not so much so as to make a fool of himself. It would take more than this to really get under his skin, but his body had at least taken notice that there was a very attractive girl showing off her flexibility and healthy condition to him in tight and revealing clothes. And for someone of his hormonal balance, that was an achievement.

Determined not to allow her to know she had scored a point on him, Accelerator unfroze himself with a snort of irritation, and causally made his way around the other side of the couch, doing his best not to look at Bayloupe any more than he already had. Sitting on the couch again, he reclined into his preferred position for relaxation, and carefully kept his eyes on the ceiling rather than on his host. "So, what are your plans for me then?" He asked, deliberately leaving the question a little vague and open ended to see if she might slip up in her reply.

 _Too obvious, too easy. I would love to jump on that, but its just what he's expecting._ Bayloupe told herself, in response to the slight jump in her heart rate that accompanied the guy she liked asking her what plans she had for HIM, while lying on her couch deliberately not watching her get all warm and stretched out. "No real plans." She said, earning herself a slight grunt of incredulity from him. "I mean it. I have some errands to run after I get my jog in, maybe a small job or two, but nothing that should take up more than half the day or so. I'll be in and out for a while, Floris and Lancis may stop by briefly, but as for activities, I figured you would want to set your own schedule."

Stopping her stretching, Bayloupe once more took a seat on the couch just past his feet, and turned to look at him, catching his red eyes after a moment. It was time to be a little serious for a bit. "I should be free by mid-afternoon most days, unless I'm working a job in the evening or at night. I'll be glad to take you out on the town or to any places of local note when I'm free. And for that matter, I'm happy to take you along on most of my jobs, though I warn you, the vast majority of them will be extremely boring for you, not like the adventures you get drawn into in Academy City."

"But otherwise, you'll be on your own to do what you like. Watch TV, nap, browse the internet, whatever. I have some more advanced tomes on spell lore and magical theory I can set out for you as well, and I'll be glad to discuss them with you after you read them and clear up any parts you don't understand. Not that I expect there to be many of those." She quirked her lips in a mixture of admiration and a little envy… learning magic had not been nearly so easy for her as it seemed to be for him.

"I would ask that if you want to try doing more than refining your mana, and actually attempt a real spell, that you wait for my presence. This place may not look it to the untrained eye, but its fairly well warded, magically speaking, and until I can properly attune your mana to the house wards, attempting to cast a spell would probably set them off. I doubt you would be hurt, knowing you, but the house might be damaged. And that would upset me." Bayloupe leaned closer to him, and narrowed her eyes at him. "DON'T upset me, got it?"

"Or you'll what?" Accelerator smirked in the infuriatingly smug fashion he had when he was feeling particularly invulnerable.

"Or I'll throw out all your fucking coffee and make you subsist on the local sludge for the entire rest of your trip." Bayloupe retorted in even tones. "I know where we stand on relative power scales, Accelerator, I can never forget it after what we've been through together. But don't doubt me. I can still make your life a living hell for the duration of your time in England, if you push me hard enough. I don't want to though." Bayloupe frowned and leaned back, glancing away. "Really don't want to." She added, under her breath.

"Tch." Accelerator hated that he felt a little guilty from her admonishment, but perhaps he deserved it. There was little need for his usual posturing with Bayloupe… as she said, they had been through some things together after all. He just couldn't help himself sometimes. Perhaps it was immature of him, but he liked to needle her and see if he could make her cool demeanor crack a little, from time to time. "Touch my coffee and I'll put you on a one-way road out to sea." He retorted gruffly. "But… I won't do anything to blow up your house." He added, somewhat more quietly, but still audibly.

"With that out of the way then…" Bayloupe returned to her usual collected self, and then gave him a smile that he had to look away from because of the butterflies it evoked in his gut. "I invited you here because I wanted to see you again, and I thought you could use the break, but I'm not laying the burden of any expectations on you, Accelerator. You just… be you, and that will be enough."

"You're plotting something." Accelerator accused her with a frown. He almost felt like being told to just "be himself", with that look on her face and tone in her words, was an underhanded insult mixed with a back handed compliment, and he wasn't quite sure how to respond. So, default to irritation. Even if it was tempered with unnecessary gladness at her saying "I wanted to see you again".

"I'm a girl, and a magician. Plotting things is part of my prerogative." Bayloupe answered with a teasing grin. "There's food and coffee in the kitchen, but if you're lacking any basic supplies, there's a convenience store about half a mile down the road to the south. Otherwise, any shopping trips will have to wait until I'm around to give you a ride on your beloved scooter…"

"Fuck you! Get out of here and sweat those excess breakfast calories off, why don't you!" Accelerator snapped at her with a glare.

"Yeah, yeah… you know I look good just the way I am." Bayloupe retorted, slipping on her shoes and heading out the door. "See you in thirty minutes or so."

Xxxx


	2. Light out of Darkness

**Author Note:**

 **Originally this was all one chapter... I generally write long chapters, and 19k is not the longest I've done. I split it in half because I know some people don't like such long chapters, but I'll be interested to know if people want chapters of around 10k length max, or if I should just write until a chapter feels finished, even if its 15-20k?**

 **This chapter has more mature elements than the first.**

xxxx

 _There she goes, just as expected._ The young man watching the front of the house through binoculars thought to himself with a self-satisfied grin, as he watched the abso-fucking-lutely DELICIOUS looking silver haired girl in her hot-as-hell running attire exit the front door and head off down the road at a steady jog. The temptation was to follow her progress with the binoculars for a while, and watch that fine ass and those plump titties bounce and sway and jiggle a bit, but this unfortunately wasn't a personal outing, so the stalking would have to stay professional.

Putting down his binoculars, the young man reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, thumbing a speed dial as he brought it up to his ear. "She's gone out. Get the lads together and meet me there." He ordered with casual authority, not even bothering to listen to his underling answer, as he flipped the phone shut. With that set in motion, he swung a leg over the saddle of his blue and white and chrome motorcycle, an American model that was a bit loud and obnoxious for England's motorways, but that was just the sort of statement he liked.

This young man had a proper name, but it was one he intensely disliked for a variety of reasons, and he preferred instead to go by his own chosen moniker of "Sharkey". The reasons for this nickname were varied and a topic of discussion amongst his minions and acquaintances from time to time. Some said it was a nod to the tattoo of a great white shark with gaping, bloodied maw that he sported across his chest and collarbones. Others alluded it to his predatory nature, or the fact that he had once been a loan shark before properly getting established in the criminal underworld of Blackpool. Some, especially those whom had been on his bad side in the past, maintained that it was his bloodthirsty viciousness in a fight that it reflected.

Sharkey never commented on why he wanted to be called that, and anyone who tried to press him on it tended to regret it quickly. He was in his late teenage years, eighteen or nineteen, and the sort of well built handsome that bespoke of an upbringing in an upper-middle class or lower upper-class family, wanting for little, and with plenty of opportunity. He had fair skin, short blond hair and bright green eyes, and was well muscled but not overblown. How he came to be an up and coming member of the local organized crime syndicate was anyone's guess… perhaps he did it for the money, or the power, or just for fun. But regardless of reasons, Sharkey was good at his job, trusted by his superiors, reasonably liked by his peers, and properly feared by his subordinates.

That job was of a legbreaker and troubleshooter for the mob. He didn't really own a territory or administer an aspect of the various illegal trades the mob owned. He didn't deal drugs, didn't pimp girls or boys, didn't fence stolen goods or do the stealing of said goods, and wasn't into any of the white-collar crime either. If he could be said to be part of any particular racket, it would be the protection money racket… where individuals and businesses paid a monthly tribute to the mob in order for their business to remain unmolested by various underworld sorts… including the mob itself.

Few people or businesses enjoying having to put up a cut off their profits for this particular "service" of course, and it was one of Sharkey's jobs to go and visit those who proved especially reluctant or tardy with their payments. He would have a little "talk" with the recalcitrant person, occasionally with some of his boys backing him up for proper emphasis, and get the money flowing again. Most of the time, physical intimidation and the right verbal threats were enough to do the job. But sometimes a little brutality was called for as well, some property damage, some patrons or employees getting their teeth kicked in, that sort of thing. And Sharkey was VERY good at that side of things.

He'd never killed anyone and held that as a point of personal pride. Killing people was, after all, generally bad for business. It drew a lot of attention from the authorities, and even with the local cops being bought off by the organization, there were some things they'd couldn't bury, and that included civilian bodies turning up at random. But there was a hell of a lot of damage you could inflict on a human body without actually killing someone… and Sharkey was an expert at inflicting just enough of the right kinds of damage to get his point across very effectively. He'd never killed anyone… but that didn't mean he hadn't put people in the hospital for a very long time when they refused to be reasonable.

One of several projects he was currently working on concerned the girls who lived at the unassuming semi-rural house he had just been observing. His information said there were supposed to be four of them but he'd only ever personally seen three… apparently the fourth was out of the country on an extended trip of some sort. It was irrelevant though, because the leader of the four girls, the silver haired hottie who was off on a jog, named Bayloupe, was obviously still around. And when it came to the protection racket, you didn't talk with the employees, it was the boss you had to get your point across to.

Sharkey wasn't sure exactly what Bayloupe and her friends did for their business… they called themselves New Light, but that didn't explain much. The info he had on them from his bosses was… incomplete on that subject. In ways that made Sharkey think more of redactions than lack of intel. But he knew how to read between the lines, you didn't survive long enough to ascend in the mobs ranks without picking up some sequestered knowledge about the hidden workings of the world. He'd seen some things, and heard some stories, about people who could do things that they really shouldn't be able to do. The mob called those kinds of people "Specialists", and they were always in demand for their skills.

If Bayloupe and her girl-friends were Specialists, Sharkey could see why the mob was interested in getting a cut of their business. That sort of group could be a big income earner, and usually worked primarily for cash, so there was less worry about the government noticing the reduction in tax money earned. And for that matter, some of the non-redacted info he had said that New Light was currently persona non-grata with the majority of the Authorities, because they were involved in that terrorist attack on London a few months back… and judging by the heat that was on them now, not on the side of the good guys.

Now, Sharkey was not really a patriot, and certainly couldn't be called an upstanding citizen of the UK, but he was still an Englishman… and there were things no real Englishman would tolerate, and those included any attempt to harm the Queen or the Royal family. It was a cultural thing. Maybe New Light had only been peripherally involved… it would explain why they were currently still in business and not in prison or executed for treason… but they'd still been involved in the terror attack. And that made them vulnerable in all sorts of ways.

Normally, the mob approached Specialist groups warily, with a contract as a partner, or sometimes even asking for a favor. But not this time. With New Light in a precarious position, and just recently moved into the Blackpool area away from their previous territory, Sharkey's bosses felt like there was an opportunity here, and he agreed. Getting a Specialist group under their thumb would be a huge feather in the boss's caps, and a great way for them to progress upwards even further in the national organization. And if he could facilitate such a thing, Sharkey knew the rewards would be ample, in wealth and prestige.

Overtures had already been made to the group, offering them substantial money and unofficial protection, as well as access to the mob's other resources, in exchange for New Light's exclusive services. Unfortunately, Bayloupe and her girls appeared to not properly understand their own situation, and had been prideful, disdainful and outright rude to the messengers and negotiators, over several encounters. So now the kiddie gloves were coming off, and Sharkey was assigned to educate them on the realities of life.

Of course, the usual tactics probably wouldn't work on a group of Specialists. Sharkey didn't know what the girls could do, but it was a safe assumption that any one of them could probably wipe the floor with his entire gang in a physical confrontation on equal terms, without breaking a sweat. But that just meant he had to get creative. Attacking the girls was out of the question, but similarly, they couldn't afford the official scrutiny that would come down on them if they got involved in beating up a lot of guys for anything other than the most clear-cut case of self-defense. So, he couldn't threaten them with violence, and they couldn't inflict violence on him unless attacked first. Stalemate, or it would be for most legbreakers in the mob, who were one trick ponies for the most part.

But Sharkey was cunning as well as brutal. There was more than one way to skin a cat, or break the haughty resolve of a teenage girl. His planned encounter this morning was the start of one such method, and if he was lucky, it would produce the desired results… both for his boss, and for Sharkey himself. He wasn't afraid to cut himself in on a little "side action" if the opportunity was there after all. And since it wouldn't involve money in this case, the boss wouldn't care even if he found out. Sharkey grinned like his namesake, but then admonished himself not to get too far ahead. He had to play this smart, or he'd be made a fool of instead.

Starting up his motorcycle, Sharkey roared off with a howl of exhaust, making his way along the country roads until he arrived at the designated meet up spot with his gang, and once there, he moved with them to the pre-arranged position just around the bend from New Light's house. After posting a sentry to watch for Bayloupe returning from her jog, and placing a call to one of the mob's contacts in the local police, to make sure there wouldn't be any random patrols or other interruptions, it was simply a matter of waiting.

After another twenty minutes or so, right on schedule, Bayloupe was sighted running down the road, working up a fine sweat and a little out of breath as she pushed herself for speed on the last leg of her exercise route. Sharkey timed his arrival at her house, along with his boys, so that Bayloupe was just opening the gate of the fence when his bike and the car with his goons pulled up right behind her. His boys piled out in a hurry, three of them going to either side of Bayloupe, staying a respectful few feet away, but clearly blocking her path away to either side, while Sharkey slowly got off his bike and approached her directly from behind.

"Hey there, sweet stuff, got a moment to talk?" Sharkey called out to the silver haired girl. Like his boys, he was dressed in dark leather jacket with metal studs, dark jeans tucked into sturdy steel toed boots, and with fingerless gloves that had metal studs sewn into the knuckles. He wore a white tank top underneath his jacket, with a wide enough collar to show the top half of his tattoo.

Bayloupe turned to him with a cool look on her face and a glare in her aquamarine eyes, and Sharkey took a moment to simply admire the girl from close range. She was tall and fairly busty, with a narrow waist but a hefty ass and strong thighs that went on for days. Her silvery hair was obviously natural, and worn short and a little wild. Her skin was pale and creamy, and free from blemishes as far as he could see… and he looked pretty carefully. The oddity was the vacuum-tube looking things that rose in pairs at an angle from behind and above her ears… some kind of futuristic headphones or headband or something he didn't quite understand, but they didn't detract from her overall sexiness in the slightest.

Said sexiness was only enhanced by the tight blue shirt and black short shorts she was wearing, damp with her perspiration, sticking to her body even more than usual, outlining every curve and highlight of her eighteen-year-old figure. The sweat also made her skin shiny like it had been freshly oiled, and her hair was slicked down a bit, like wet steel. She was delicious. Abso-fucking-lutely delicious, and his boys were eying her up just as much as Sharkey was. Which was fine… as long as they remembered to keep their hands to themselves later on.

"I'm actually busy right now, thanks." Bayloupe replied, taking in the situation at a glance, her cold eyes telling him that she knew the score. Or thought she did anyway. She started to turn back to the gate of her fence.

"Oh, don't be like that, hottie." Sharkey grinned at her with all his teeth, moving a bit closer, to almost invade her personal space. "We just wanna talk for a bit. You seem new to the area, and we feel responsible for telling you how things work around here… to keep you and your little girl-friends out of trouble. It's our… civic duty."

"First off, I know how things work, or how you want things to work, but as I told the other guys before, I'm not interested in that line of work. And even if I was, not under those kinds of terms. New Light is an independent group, from the government and from anyone else. We're free agents and want to stay that way. End of story." Bayloupe answered coolly and calmly. Though there was a certain tension in her stance, and maybe a vein twitching in her brow at how flirty Sharkey was being. "Second off, back the hell up off me. You wanna talk, then talk, but get out of my face."

"Make me, hot stuff." Sharkey retorted, bracing himself in case she went stupid and actually did it, but after a moment or two of her steady glares, he grinned again, thanking God that the info he had was correct. He took a half step closer, invading her personal bubble now, within arm's reach, as his boys crowded a bit closer too, a wall of leering muscle and leather on either side. "Oh? Not gonna make me? Maybe you don't dislike this after all…" Sharkey made as if to lift his hand to touch her cheek.

"Give me the excuse, punk." Bayloupe snapped at him, refusing to back away. One had to be firm with this type of man, and this type of situation. Any sort of retreat, physical or emotional, would be seen as a sign of weakness, and New Light couldn't afford weakness or even a perception of it right now.

"Scary…" Sharkey withdrew his hand, having not intended to follow through anyway. He'd never forcefully put his hands on a girl, except when needed to beat one up for a lesson. He was a big believer in choice after all. People could choose to do the reasonable thing and go along with his desires or the terms of the deal they had made with his boss, or… they could suffer the consequences. "That just makes you hotter though." He licked his lips, and ignored her look of disgust. She'd change her tune eventually. They always did.

"I don't have time for this." Bayloupe growled at the goon squad and Sharkey. "If you're here to pass on a message, then pass it on. Otherwise, I'm going inside."

"We'll come with you then." Sharkey said, and smirked at the flush of real anger he could see on her cheeks, along with a hint of unexpected nervousness… she obviously didn't want them to follow her into the house, but there was something more to it than just the usual reasons. "See, I'm not here to give you a message… my boss wants me to have a real conversation with you. He feels there may be some miscommunication between us and you, and he wants that hammered out." Sharkey gave a signal with his hand, and two of his guys pulled out claw-hammers from within their jackets. "Your choice on literally or figuratively, hot stuff."

"You must be kidding." Bayloupe snorted and rolled her eyes. "You and I both know you're too chicken to try and use those on me or my teammates. Seriously, you call that a threat? Don't make me laugh."

"Laugh if you want, I don't mind. Bet you sound really fine when you're laughing." Sharkey shrugged off her disdain, somewhat to her surprise and he saw her become even more wary. "Look, sweet stuff, you're pretty special, in all kinds of ways, and I know that. But you aren't THAT special. There're rules to follow, and you don't get to just ignore them when you're on our turf. Maybe, in a normal situation, you could contest the rules a bit, maybe even get away with it… but your situation right now… its not normal, is it?" Sharkey stepped forward once more, almost nosetip to nosetip with Bayloupe.

Close enough to feel her heat, and for her bust to almost touch his chest. With her back to the fence gate and his guys looming to either side. Nowhere to run. Close enough to kiss her, had he a death wish. Too close to comfortably talk. She would either have to push him back, which would just play into his hands as an aggressive action to justify his own future actions, or she'd have to tolerate an invasion of her intimate space, which would show she was more powerless than she wanted them to think, which would open the door to renegotiations on the offered deal. Not quite checkmate, but definitely check… or it would have been, without outside interference…

"And just what the FUCK sort of shitshow is this!?" An unexpected and angry male voice suddenly intruded on the confrontation, from the direction of the house's front door…

Xxxx

Having the house to himself was normally something Accelerator treasured, as it was a blessed and usually all too brief period of quiet and solitude amongst the chaos and disorder and commotion that his life was plagued with. However, after Bayloupe left to go on her run, he could not deny he felt a certain sense of dissatisfaction. He had all the quiet and solitude he could want, moreso than he could ever get in Academy City, but it felt… empty. Hollow. Boring.

He tried to watch some television, but while he had no problem with the English language, the sorts of mid-morning and daytime TV shows that were shown in this country were not his idea of quality TV. Soap operas and romantic dramas and kids shows for the most part, which was often what he was forced to watch at home, because Last Order enjoyed them, and Worst knew he hated them so she watched them just to piss him off. British TV turned out to be even less filled with violence and blood or gore than Academy City TV was, and he quickly turned to the news in search of something less eye-rollingly dull.

But even the news failed to truly garner his interest. For one, it involved a country he really could care less about in the wider scheme of things. And any interest he did have in England was all due to the Magic Side, which sure as fuck wasn't going to be on the news. It was perhaps a trifle entertaining to see the breathless coverage of Academy City from an outside perspective, but since foreign media wasn't allowed inside the City for a variety of reasons, they could really only report on rumors and hearsay, or repeat the usual Academy City official propaganda material.

 _Maybe I should have gone with her? Heh… who the fuck am I kidding?_ Accelerator thought, indulging in a bit of brooding. Not self-pity… he DESERVED to suffer, he knew that, after all he'd done, and his broken body and ravaged nervous system was the LEAST of what he owed to his countless victims. But all the same, he was keenly aware of the limitations he now had. Which included barely being able to move faster than a racing turtle when he was using his cane to get around. During PE at school, he usually got lapped by the rest of the class, even the fat kids and prissy girls, several times over during any running exercises. Going on a jog with Bayloupe would be impossible… he would just make a fool of himself trying and failing to keep up. And he would hate to see the look on her face at his incapability… even if it was a kind one. ESPECIALLY if it was a kind one!

And turning on the full power of his electrode, while it would restore his physical capability… even his baseline athleticism wasn't exceptional. He could run when he had to, more so than the Fourth rank could anyway, not that such was a very high bar. But with his power available, running was unnecessary. He could fucking FLY if he needed to get somewhere fast! So that would mostly just be a waste of battery life, and earning him the ability to get all red in the face and soaked in sweat just to end up falling off the pace after five or ten minutes, instead of within one or two.

"Fuck this." Accelerator growled unhappily at the TV, flipping it off and levering himself to his feet. Even standing took actual effort if he wasn't using his cane as a brace. Part of him wanted to go for a walk, as stalking the streets was one of his usual methods of blowing off steam. He could usually wander into a bad part of town and work of some of his ill feeling on whatever unlucky punks decided to try and start trouble with him. Maybe even occasionally do some good in the process, help out someone in trouble… not that he sought out situations like that, unlike the fucking Hero… but he wasn't averse to the excuse to step in and cause some guilt free havoc if it presented itself.

But there was no city to prowl in this case, or the one that was here was too far away for a casual walk. Bayloupe had left the scooter behind, but it would be a much colder day in hell before he got on that thing and puttered off on his own, even if nobody could see him do it. He could perhaps go off into the woods, explore the countryside, by his cane and physical weakness was not ideal for cross country foot travel. If he twisted his ankle in a gopher den or something, or fell in a creek trying to cross it, Bayloupe probably wouldn't tease him… but the humiliation would still be unbearable.

But more than the possibility of a humiliating accident, the idea that Bayloupe might return from her run before he returned from his wandering, made Accelerator discard the idea of going for a trip. "What the fuck is wrong with me?" He asked himself aloud, even though he already knew the answer. It was fucking bullshit, of course, but he wasn't going to live in denial like the goddamn Hero did. He was attracted to her, physically and emotionally. He knew it, and furthermore she knew it too, which made it all sorts of complicated. He had no experience in "liking" a girl after all, and even less in one "liking" him back. He was not a likable guy after all, and grew less so the better someone knew the real him, in his opinion.

Bayloupe however DID know the real him, well, more than anyone except for Last Order and Worst did anyway. Yomikawa and Yoshikawa didn't know the full details of what he'd done during the Level 6 Shift project, much less some of the other things he'd been involved in. They were aware that he had killed a lot of people and hurt even more. But exactly who he had killed, and how, and the sheer cruelty he'd exhibited at times… and still did, when pressed into a tough situation… that was not something his "guardians" were privy to. They would probably still support him, and stand by him, even if they did know the full details, and that was something Accelerator did not take for granted, even as he did not fully understand it either.

Bayloupe was also like that. She had seen him at one of the lowest points of his life, when he was completely unable to stand up to the monster known as Cain, despite being at as close to full power himself as he ever got. No gimmicks, no bullshit anti-AIM tricks, he just got overpowered and stomped by superior force, and the people closest to him got hurt because he COULDN'T protect them. And there, beaten and bloodied in body, battered in mind and spirit, he had cracked a bit, and admitted his sins to her and Last Order, with the intention of dying to hold off Cain long enough to let them escape.

But there, at his weakest ever moment in his entire life, that was when Bayloupe had told him how strong she believed him to be, and in complete contravention of his every wish and desire, had refused to flee with Last Order. Instead they had both promised to stay by his side, even in the face of hopeless doom, until the end… with the faith that despite everything, HE would somehow manage to come through and save them. Like a hero. And that even if he failed, they would be there with him when it ended… without regret, because of their feelings for him.

He still didn't know how to react to that, and had done his best to just set it aside, but it wasn't like it was going away, that connection they'd forged, that bond that had appeared in those moments. Of course, he HAD pulled through… with a little assistance perhaps from the total BULLSHIT that was Ghost Girl, and the less thought about that the better… but pull through and save the day he had. But after an event like that, things couldn't just stay the same, despite his best efforts to set things aside.

 _Should I count that as a confession?_ Accelerator wondered with a grimace. _If it was, I didn't really give her an answer, I guess. Then again, she's not like those idiots and sluts who flock around the Hero… she doesn't need things spelled out in huge block letters all the time. Shit, I don't know… its so complicated, it makes my head hurt._ Continuing his grimace into a scowl, he tried to decide whether to go looking for some of Bayloupe's books on magic she had mentioned, or to get his phone and check in with the Brat to make sure nothing weird was going on back home, and see how she was getting on with the babysitters he had "arranged" for her and Worst.

Before he could come to said decision, he was interrupted by the sound of a far too loud internal combustion engine roaring up on the road outside, and coming to a halt with a squeal of tires nearby. His keen ears also picked up the sound of a car similarly stopping nearby, and immediately his instincts for trouble pricked up a bit. Perhaps it was just Lancis and whatshername, Flour, come to visit their home base like Bayloupe had said they might… but that didn't feel right. They would have driven up normally, not in a rush with squealing tires and roaring engine.

Making his way to the window by the front door, Accelerator instinctively checked the back of his waistband, before scowling deeper as he remembered he didn't have his handgun. Academy City could care less if he carried a gun, but England, with its very strict firearms laws, was much less accepting, and since this was a vacation after all, he'd been obliged to leave the gun at home. Well, he still had his choker of course, and that was all the power he would ever hopefully need. Edging the curtain to one side, he peered carefully out to assess the situation.

 _And what the hell is this shit?_ He asked himself, in mingled amusement and confusion. The situation wasn't particularly strange, at least to someone steeped in darkness like he was. Bayloupe was just getting back from her run when a gang of young toughs had shown up and cornered her at the gate to the yard. Seven of them, six of which were pure muscle and the last had to be the brains of the operation, as far as such things went. All of them were as big or bigger than Bayloupe, and considerably heavier in muscle. They were probably armed as well, with blunt force weapons if probably not handguns, judging from their postures and the way their jackets hung.

Accelerator settled in with a grin, leaning against the window frame in anticipation of a bit of a show. After all, he had encountered Bayloupe dealing with stupid thugs before, back in Academy City, and while there had been no need for her to get in on the action then because of his arrival, she had seemed perfectly willing to crack some skulls and break some arms if he hadn't come by. Sometimes old-fashioned physical violence was the only language some people understood. Accelerator spoke it fluently and was interested to see how Bayloupe was with it. He was confident she would put all seven of those goons into the trash with little effort… she wasn't as strong as him, but she was in no way weak, even without resorting to Magic.

It was thus with some surprise that he continued to watch the confrontation escalate without much action from her. She and the head thug were bantering back and forth, in that way people who disliked each other but didn't want to be the first to throw a punch did, but he couldn't understand why Bayloupe was soft-shoeing the situation. This was literally her home, right outside her own yard, and these losers were getting right up in her face in a manner that was begging for a smack down. There was no good reason to tolerate that sort of bullshit from lowlifes like them, it would only encourage them to take even more liberties with you in the future!

Still, it was HER problem, not his, and her turf, not his, so even though he felt she was handling it wrongly, Accelerator didn't feel the urge to step in. That is, of course, until the head thug suddenly invaded Bayloupe's personal space in a big way, getting right up on her, almost chest to chest and face to face, with her back hard against the gate to the fence. From the wrong sort of angle, it might almost look like they were embracing or kissing.

 _Fuck this nonsense!_ Accelerator thought savagely, a vein pulsing in his jaw and forehead as a fierce light filled his crimson eyes. He wasn't making some stupid misunderstanding like the third rate or some of the other girls did with the fucking Hero… he knew that Bayloupe didn't like this guy and wasn't inviting him into her space, even if she was for some reason beyond his comprehension tolerating it. But it did piss him the hell off that the guy was doing it, especially because she didn't like it, and before he even really stopped to think about anything, he slammed open the front door and stepped out into the yard.

"And just what the FUCK sort of shitshow is this!?" he demanded, speaking mostly to Bayloupe, but addressing the whole group. The seven guys stared at him in a mixture of surprise and incredulity, but Bayloupe's reaction was different. There was a flush of embarrassment on her face that was briefly intriguing, along with a great deal of anger. She clearly wasn't best pleased at his intervention into whatever the hell this was. Tough shit for her.

"Who the fuck are you!?" The head thug, who sported a tattoo of some kind of large fish on his upper chest, retorted with a deep frown, clearly not expecting someone else to come out of the New Light house. "You know what, it doesn't matter… mind your own fucking business, cripple!"

"Accelerator…" Bayloupe started to say something, but as far as he was concerned, she'd already mishandled the situation, so he was going to clean it up for her whether she wanted it or not. Maybe afterwards he would let her explain why she let these no-life losers get the upper hand on her… it was kind of disappointing really, and that just made him even angrier.

"Who the fuck am I!?" Accelerator snapped back, putting on one of his nearly patented crazy-ass motherfucker grins, the kind that made him look like every bit the sort of serial killer he was, or had been. There were a lot of ways he could answer that question. In Academy City, his name would be more than enough to end any confrontation with thugs. Everyone knew who the number 1 was and what happened to people who fucked with him. Here in England, that rep didn't exist though, at least not outside the highest levels of government.

And that's when it occurred to him, the perfect reply for the situation, and a method of getting a little payback for some of the trouble Bayloupe had caused for him with Yomikawa back in Academy City. He'd been forced to bear a lot of bullshit after what she told Yomikawa about why they'd been found together in his room after the confrontation with Cain, stuff he didn't even want to remember anymore it was so humiliating! _Let's see how she likes it then!_ He thought as he finally answered the fish-guy. "I'm her fucking boyfriend, asshole, that's who the fuck I am! So, what the fuck is your problem then, huh!?"

The look on her face was everything he could have hoped for, her mouth dropping open in stunned disbelief, her entire body twitching as if struck by lightning, as a bright red flush of mingled embarrassment and outrage covered her cheeks. She was a lot more expressive than he was, and damn if she didn't look cute when she was pissed, he had to say! "What the…!?" She cried out but was overridden by the fish-guy.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU SAYING, SHITSTAIN!?" Fish-guy seemed quite upset with Accelerator's response… moreso than Accelerator's rough and abrasive delivery would account for on its own. "She don't have no fucking boyfriend! We woulda seen you while we were staking this place out" He declared furiously.

"And how the fuck would you know, dumbass?" Accelerator sneered with all the arrogance and disdain he could muster as the Number 1 of Academy City. _Looks like fish-guy has a thing for her. Too bad for him, she's out of his league._ "Not that its any of your fucking business, but I live in Academy City, and just got in for a visit." He smirked in a way that he knew would push all the buttons on the loser. "She's been making me feel… very welcome… so far."

Bayloupe was positively fuming, her face as red as fire, steam almost visibly coming out of her ears… but unlike the third rate, she could keep a handle on her rage when need be, which he liked. She didn't like that he was stepping in and resolving the situation and liked even less the way he was doing it, but it was still resolving the situation and giving her an out, and she wasn't going to ruin that opportunity.

"Oh, is that so!?" Fish-guy scowled mightily, looking between Bayloupe and Accelerator, and probably imagining all sorts of infuriating things. Accelerator was almost certain the bastard was going to flip his lid and charge into the yard to try and beat him up in a testosterone fueled display of stupidity. That would be all the excuse he needed to flip his collar on and show all these fuckers a one-way road into pain-town. It wouldn't take more than a couple seconds. "Well… fuck you too then, gimpy!"

To Accelerators surprise, and disgruntlement, the fish-guy actually backed off, returning to his motorcycle, simmering with anger, but keeping his lid on. "Come on guys, let's get out of here, and leave these two lovebirds alone." He said scathingly, and if his eyes were a laser, he'd have been burning a hole in his own skull from it reflecting off Accelerator's face. "Clearly this bitch really is busy after all. We'll come back another time to have our talk… don't you doubt it… and YOU, gimpy… I'll be seeing you around, I bet…" He promised darkly, before roaring off in a cloud of burnt rubber and thundering exhaust, with his goons somewhat belatedly following after piling into their car.

"Heh. Losers." Accelerator scoffed at their threats, and then turned to scowl at Bayloupe. He was not averse to confrontation of course, but it irritated him all the same that he had been forced to step in while on vacation, and for someone he had felt capable of handling the issue on her own, and then failed to. "What the hell is the matter with you?" He demanded of her, as she walked, red faced, up the path from the fence to the house door towards him. "That was pathetic… I expected MUCH better from y…"

He was interrupted by Bayloupe grabbing him by the front and collar of his shirt, her strength now on display as she lifted him onto his heels and literally slammed him against the side of the house next to the door. He was caught off guard by the violence of it, not hurt really, but unbalanced, his cane flailing for a moment as he tried to recover his equilibrium. But before he could even swear at her unexpected action, she completely trumped it with another one! She leaned in, pressing her sweat soaked body against his own, pinning him in place against the house, and slammed her lips into his nearly as hard as she had his back into the wall!

 _WHAT THE FUCK!? WHAT THE FUCK!?_ Accelerator's brain screamed at him, but he seemed to have lost the connection to his body, his eyes as wide as saucers as Bayloupe held him tight and close, pressing her warm and soft and damp body against his rather leaner frame, and kissed him full on the lips! With tongue even! He was intensely aware of her scent and her warmth, and her strength as she held him on his heels, off balance and kind of helpless to resist without activating his collar, devouring his mouth with her own with her eyes closed and her face burning with some combination of anger and embarrassment he could not decipher!

As suddenly as the kiss had started, Bayloupe ended it, releasing her grip on his shirt and stepping back, a trail of saliva connecting their lips and tongues for a moment before fading away. "Welcome home… boyfriend." She snarled at him almost viciously, without looking at him, and stormed inside, slamming the door almost off its hinges behind her.

Accelerator actually fell over, sliding down the wall to land on his ass, as he goggled, completely stunned to incomprehension. And then, his own anger took over again, as it usually did when he was completely floored by the unexpected and unlikely. "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!?" He shouted between panting for breath, loud enough to echo off the hillsides.

Xxxx

"You…"

Bayloupe looked up from where she was seated on the couch, her face still red as a tomato, and her body still shaking with the emotions of what she had done. She almost flinched when the door had opened a couple seconds after she heard Accelerator's ringing shout from outside, but with effort she had steeled herself and held still. She had done something foolish, out of anger, embarrassment, shock and perhaps a little excitement, and now that she had sown the wind, she would reap the whirlwind.

Accelerator was a bit red in the face too, his eyes almost glowing with emotions too turbulent for her to immediately decipher… other than anger. There was a lot of anger in the room, between the two of them. He stood in the doorway, a couple feet away, leaning heavily on his cane, his mouth working on words he couldn't seem to find as his eyes pierced into her own. "What… the fuck… was THAT!?" He managed at last, grinding out each word with his hands in white knuckled grips on the cane and the doorway.

"Our first kiss." Bayloupe replied, knowing that adopting a snarky tone right now would only piss him off, but she was so furious herself at what he'd done with Sharkey and his boys that she didn't care. Yeah, he'd stopped the confrontation this time, but it didn't solve the underlying problem. And now Sharkey was going to be on the warpath after being forced to retreat like that, and from what things Accelerator had said. He was just a thug of course, a low-level enforcer in the local mob… but he could still cause trouble for her, and New Light, all the same. And now he would be causing trouble, no doubt about it.

"Our first…" Accelerator trailed off as a dark aura formed around him, almost a sort of pressure that made her shiver despite herself. It wasn't as bad as Cain's warping of the world around him when he got serious, but it was still something a human should really not be able to do! "Explain… yourself… NOW!" Accelerator ordered her, his voice drained of anger but far more intense and powerful because of it.

Doing her best not to gulp nervously, as despite his attitude, Bayloupe was still at least 95 percent sure he wouldn't harm her even if she outright refused to explain herself at all, she nonetheless faced him squarely and gave him what he wanted. After what she had done, he deserved the plain truth, even if he didn't like it. "This isn't how I wanted this to go, but you just… you pushed my buttons and I just acted." She admitted to start with. "Accelerator… I… I like you. You've known that, and I've known that, for a while now, but we never really spoke of it. There just wasn't really the right moment, a break in the action or a time when we wouldn't be interrupted or spied on. So… I guess this is my confession. I like you, Accelerator. I would like to become your girlfriend. Real and officially."

"My girlfr… you're serious…" Some of the dark aura faded from around him, and some life began seeping back into his words and expression. He released his hand from the doorjamb, and stepped into the house fully again, letting the door close behind him. "Well… it wasn't a secret, I guess." He grumbled irritably, as he slowly made his way around onto the couch, sitting down on the other end from her with a grunt of annoyance. "All the time hanging around me, and those verbal shoving matches you had with the Ice girl and Saiai…" Accelerator noted the slight tightening of Bayloupe's lips when he mentioned Kinuhata by name, but since she had stood by him in a fight herself, she was worthy at least of that much. "So, what then… what do you expect me to say?"

"I told you before." Bayloupe replied, not looking away from him. "I invited you here with no expectations at all. I wanted to see you, yes. I wanted to see if I could find a way to get closer to you, to turn our lie of convenience into a truth. But those are my wants. They don't necessarily have any bearing on what you might want."

"What I want… huh." Accelerator scoffed, and glanced aside from her unwavering gaze. "What I might want doesn't matter, because I don't deserve it."

"That is NOT for you to decide." Bayloupe snapped at him, unwilling to let him denigrate himself over the past. Yes, it was terrible, the things he had done, the lives he had ended, for the sake of mere power. But he had been lied to. Manipulated. Wrapped in layers of deception and corruption until his actions had seemed reasonable. Many powerful men had fallen to much lesser temptations in the past. "Last Order has told you that. And now I'm telling you that too. You are a good man… a good person. I have seen it, and I won't doubt it because of the mistakes you have made in the past. You deserve to be happy too."

"Maybe." Accelerator grunted noncommittally. "There's more than killing in the darkness of my past though… good people… don't always get what they… deserve…"

"I know that." Bayloupe swallowed heavily and decided that it was time to reciprocate to him what he had once done for her. "You know, I was… a couple years younger than you are now, when I first willingly slept with a man." She let that admission, and everything it implied and left unsaid, hang between them for a long moment. She had his gaze again, sharp and piercing, but she did not give him time to reply.

"It was for money, of course. We needed to pay for food, and lodging, and bribes to get the local authorities to look the other way regarding our lack of adult guardians. The other girls were still just kids really, much too young to put to work on any sort of legal job… and far too innocent still for me to want them to work in the ways they could work. Not completely innocent… none of us were by then… but… innocence is precious. It should not be wasted frivolously." She caught his eye, knowing that he understood that, which was one reason he watched out for Last Order so fiercely.

"It was never my first choice, then or other times when we needed a sudden influx of cash, of course, but it was often the best choice all the same. It paid well, and the work… well, it wasn't really difficult for me. I matured fairly early, in terms of my looks, so acquiring clients wasn't too hard. Most of the time they were just regular people, perhaps on the immoral side to be seeking such things with an underage girl, but not awful people all things considered. Some of them though… some liked to… pay extra for… special services." Bayloupe swallowed and clutched her knees tightly. "And some of them… didn't like to pay… at all."

"Of course, I had my magic, even if it wasn't in the complete form you've seen me use. But there's a lot of rules here in England about the usage of Magic on other people… especially magic that causes harm or could kill people. It may not seem that way to you, because most of the Magicians you've encountered have been tied to the Church or the Government, and they are allowed the use of deadly force for various reasons. That's not the case for independents like New Light. Sometimes… sometimes fighting back and hurting or killing people, even bad people that DESERVED IT… it would have caused more trouble than it solved." Bayloupe lifted her head, staring at the ceiling now, not wanting to see what look was on his face.

"Maybe if it was just me, just my life at stake, I would have done it differently. But I had Floris, and Lancis and Lessar to think of. I'm not that much older than them… but I'm enough older for it to matter. After we… escaped, from the Cabal that had acquired us as young girls, it was my responsibility to protect them, care for them, help them grow up as good, happy girls…" Bayloupe trailed off and gathered herself. "I did a lot of things in the name of that cause. Illegal things. Violent things. Perverted, disgusting things… things I don't like remembering. Things which haunt me still. Things I can never be proud of, no matter what."

"I learned a lot of lessons. Power is not strength. Handsomeness is not good character. Fine words do not mean fine intentions. The strong often do not care about the weak, and the weak will stab you in the back more often than not as soon as they get a chance. Most people suck, in various ways and at various times. The world is not fair. And magic… magic can't fix your world when it breaks on you. It can cure wounds, heal sicknesses, repair your clothes, rebuild your house, and even punish the wicked… but it can't give you back the life you once had. It can't restore your innocence. Magic can do just about anything really… except the things most of us really, deep down inside, wish it would do…"

She did her best, her absolute best, but it was not entirely enough to prevent some moisture gathering at the edges of her eyes, and a certain amount of stiffness in her throat. There was no reply from Accelerator, she could barely even hear him breathing, though she could still feel his eyes on her. "Your dark past isn't like my dark past, but dark they are… and in the past, they should stay." She said, as calmly as she could. "I have made… more mistakes that cause me and other people pain and harm, than I can even recall. But… but you CAN'T let them rule over you in the present. For the sake of all the people relying on you, who care about you, and love you… you CAN'T…" She dug her fingers into her knees hard enough she was afraid she might start bleeding.

The silence stretched between them for an eternity, and she refused to look at him. Baring your soul to your crush was supposed to be something that relieved you, the romance dramas would have you believe. Clearing the air between you, showing your heart so that the one you cared for could reassure you. Reality was not like that. It was nerve wracking, and really, nothing he could say would make it any better. Pity would be as bad as disgust. Anger was useless, and commiseration… a farce. Not only were they vastly different people, but a man could never understand what a girl felt in that sort of situation, fundamentally.

"Why?" Accelerator finally broke the silence, and Bayloupe forced herself to look at him again. To her unspoken relief, his face was back to its usual guarded state, closed off except to those who knew him well. His eyes were perhaps a little hooded, his complexion perhaps a trifle paler than usual, but otherwise he looked like he usually did. And that simple lack of visible reaction was worth more to her than she could possibly express. "Why tell me? What do you want me to say?"

"There is nothing you can say. Even the Master of Vectors can't turn back time, and nor can any Magic I know of." Bayloupe answered and sighed. "I don't want you to say anything, because it would just be inadequate. Just like nothing I can say can really absolve you of what you did in your past, for your reasons. I didn't tell you so you could say something, or do anything. Sympathy… is a poison, for people like us. I just… wanted you to know. Because… you told me about yours. So this is… fair. Life may not be… but I want to be, when I can."

"I see." Accelerator replied. In most people, that would be a platitude, a verbal shrug. But she knew that he did see, he did understand, in a way only someone like him could. And that was enough. "So… what now?"

"Well, I wouldn't mind an answer, one way or another." Bayloupe said, doing her very best to keep her heart at its normal rate and retain her cool beauty status.

"An answer?" Accelerator seemed confused by her request.

"I confessed to you. It's considered polite to respond, one way or another." Bayloupe sighed and rolled her eyes. "Come on, I know you're not oblivious like Kamijou is. And despite everything, it shouldn't be a hard decision. Do you want to date, yes or no? I'm not asking for your hand in marriage, just some dating, just some… exploring. Why do you Academy City people have to make this complicated when it's not?"

"And if I say no?" Accelerator asked, clearly testing the waters. Not saying no, but asking what would happen if he did.

"Then I'll be disappointed, but I'll get over it. You're an interesting guy, and I like you a lot. I owe you my life, a couple times over. But if you're not interested, then so be it, your loss. I am a gorgeous and stylish girl after all, I can find someone eventually I'm sure. And I'm only 18. Most of my life is still hopefully ahead of me." Bayloupe answered seriously. "It won't make me happy, but I won't get angry with you, and I won't kick you out. We'll just spend the rest of the week and the future as friends."

"And if I say yes?" Accelerator asked again, a slight smile on his face that put some butterflies in her stomach for sure.

"Then you'll make me very happy. And at least two girls back in Academy City incredibly jealous. I get to show up Lessar and the other girls as well. As for the relationship… that would be something we have to figure out together, what was in our comfort zones and what wasn't. I would probably be physically affectionate with you when you were in the mood, or I was. Hand holding. Hugs. Lounging together. Kissing when it felt right. And you could be affectionate as well… in your own way. I'm not expecting you to turn into a lady killer, or to alter your behavior in any substantial way. You don't need to compliment me unless you already would have, or you really want to. You don't need to change… you should just be you… because, Accelerator… it's YOU I like."

"Tch." Accelerator scowled and looked down at his lap. "Fine." He said, almost softly enough she couldn't hear him.

"What was that?" Bayloupe wasn't about to accept something half assed like that.

"I said fine!" He retorted, annoyance gleaming in his eyes even as a light flush appeared on his cheeks. "We can date then. As long as you don't get all clingy, and lovey-dovey and shit. I'm not a fucking cuddler, and don't expect a lot of expensive nights out, or for me to dress up or that shit either. And NO PDAs, especially around other people we know! And if you embarrass me in front of the others… expect no mercy!"

"Sounds fair." Bayloupe agreed, clearly somewhat surprising him. "What, I told you I wasn't expecting you to change just because we're dating? I know what you like… and more important, I know what you DON'T like, from seeing what Worst does to you all the time. For that matter, I would prefer to keep things professional seeming between us in public too, except on actual dates, and even then I'm fine with just walking together and the like. We don't need to make a song and dance out of this… what I do and feel with my boyfriend is between me and you, not for other people to weigh in on."

"Hn." Accelerated grunted acknowledgement, still clearly a bit suspicious about how reasonable she was being. The poor boy really had been traumatized by the actions and drama of his friends in Academy City.

"Well with that out of the way, lets cover the next issue likely to crop up… what degree of physical intimacy are you comfortable with, in private?" Bayloupe asked him, and this certainly put his hackles up a bit, but that was expected. "When we get hot and bothered… and we will, I promise you, to test it out if nothing else… how far do you feel like going? Kissing? Fondling? Blowjobs? Sex?"

"Oh, fuck you." Accelerator was pale and a little shaky looking.

"Yes, that's what I'm asking. Do you want to fuck me?" Bayloupe was once more not about to let him deflect, as this was a serious and important issue, one many people neglected until it was too late. Of course, underage couples could defer it a bit until the time was right. But they were mature people, at least in terms of life experience… they could have this conversation fairly, she felt. Though his embarrassment was pretty cute. "Oh… are you a virgin then? I… didn't expect that, actually…"

"FUCK! YOU!" Accelerator leaned towards her, his eyes burning with outrage at her words, moving towards where she sat on the edge of the couch.

"You can, if you want, that's what I'm saying." Bayloupe answered with a smile that obviously disarmed him somewhat. "Right here, right now, on this very couch, if that tickles your fancy. As you might imagine, I'm not shy about sex, and I don't think you should be either. Its perfectly natural and normal to desire it with someone you like. I'm not going to force you, of course, never that. But… the offer is open, ok?" Bayloupe broadened her grin a little, unable to resist going on. "I can pop the number 1 cherry in the world right here on this couch. All you have to say is "I want to"."

"You are asking for it, Bayloupe…" Accelerator warned her in threatening tones, his jaw clenched as he moved to sit right beside her. "Teasing me is not going to serve you well!"

 _I think otherwise, actually._ Bayloupe thought smugly to herself. "No, I'm explaining the realities of our dating life to you. Trust me, Accelerator… when I ask you to fuck me, you WILL know it. But I won't do that unless I know you're comfortable with the idea. It has to be your choice." She paused and swallowed a moment to conceal a waver in her tone. "Please. It MUST be your choice, ok?"

"Whatever." Accelerator looked away from the intensity in her eyes, casting his eyes downwards instead. He understood what she was saying, what she meant about the importance of choice, with the fervor only someone who hadn't had such a choice could muster. Unfortunately, his gaze downward only revealed her chest and stomach and thighs to him, and he realized how close he had crawled in his angry confrontation. His body was sending him all sorts of confusing signals, and it was really getting frustrating trying to figure out what to do or say.

Bayloupe reached out with her hands and took him by the chin, forcing him to look up at her eyes again, not harshly, but gently. She smiled at him, and his anger and anxiety drained out of him, against his will, but not unpleasantly. She leaned in, her lips parting slightly, and before he knew what was happening, they were kissing again. Her lips soft and warm against his, her tongue playful as her fingers caressed his cheek and jaw. No one had ever touched him like this before. Most people didn't like to touch him in general, and he usually preferred it that way. Other people could be gross, not to mention those actually trying to do him harm.

But this was not the usual. He had always been comfortable with Bayloupe in ways he wasn't with most people, and now that they were officially dating, even though nothing really seemed to have changed about either of them, he felt more comfortable still. He wasn't normally the sort of guy who just went with the flow, but right now… _Eh, fuck it all, maybe world class villains deserve a little reward sometimes._ He thought as he allowed himself to relax into the kiss. Bayloupe moved towards him even more upon feeling his wordless acceptance, slowly straddling him and pressing against him again, as their lips remained locked, and for a time there was no past for either of them…. Just a rosy present.

xxxx


	3. Big Fish from Small Ponds

**Author Note:**

 **Mostly romance and plot this chapter. Though probably with a twist relatively few will see coming. Action and smut to come next time, so look forward to it.**

xxxx

By mid-afternoon, Accelerator simply could not bear it anymore, being alone in Bayloupe's house. He had tried to watch TV some more, had tried to read, both on his phone while browsing the net, and a book on Norse runes that Bayloupe had supplied him with before she left for her day of work… he'd even tried his standby time passing activity, sleeping on the couch. But all of it availed him naught. None of it would allow his mind, his extremely capable, hyper-intelligent, massively parallel functioning mind, to stop dwelling upon what had happened between him and Bayloupe after the confrontation with the thugs after her run.

The confession was one thing, as it had been unspoken but understood between them both for a while that there was indeed attraction there, physical and otherwise. The revelations about some of the darkness in her own past was more substantial food for thought, and he had spent a fraction of his attention on chewing over what she had said, and what she had left unsaid. There was more, he was sure, her revelations thus far likely being only the tip of an iceberg of shady activities, moral compromises, and even outright crimes she had committed in the past in the name of survival fr her and her friends.

But no matter how he looked at it, even when he did his best to be uncharitable for the sake of argument, Accelerator could not blame or dislike Bayloupe for what she had admitted to doing. Indeed, it only earned even more of his grudging admiration, both that she had done what she needed to survive and protect the ones she cared about, but that she could talk about it to him, the boy she liked, without breaking down or even looking for sympathy. That was definitely strength on her part, strength he himself had only ever found when his life was literally on the line!

When he had told her about what he had done to the Misaka clones during the fight against Cain, he had expected her to be horrified, even terrified of his sins. That she would recoil from him, reject him once she saw what a twisted and evil person he had once been… and still was, in some ways. Not every day you found out a guy you hung around with was one of the most prolific serial killers in world history after all. In a certain sense, the term "genocide" could probably be applied to his actions, as he had been engaged in exterminating a very specific demographic of people.

He had still admitted his crimes to her… or those particular crimes anyway… and Bayloupe had praised him for the strength both that admission had taken, and for the actions he had taken since then to improve himself and become a better sort of person… even if it was only to become a world class villain rather than a monster. He still didn't really understand how she could do that, but perhaps he was getting an inkling.

Some people… many people even… might be disgusted or offended that the girl they liked had prostituted herself to others from a young age. That she had compromised her dignity and her "purity" for the sake of money or other recompense. That she had made herself filthy and dishonorable by selling her very body. Not to mention whatever other things she had done that she hadn't been specific about… likely stealing, hurting and probably killing people too. But only people who had lived all their lives in the light, without even acknowledging there was a dark, could be that sort of cluelessly idealistic and judgmental.

 _I didn't tell her that I thought she was strong. That I think she did the right thing, in order to survive and protect the people she cares about._ Accelerator had realized, with an unpleasant feeling in his chest. _She probably knows I think that… but there's a difference to knowing it, and hearing it. I know that very well. I should have said something. Damn it all, I'm… not suited for this sort of crap._ He had concluded, not that such was any surprise. He wasn't necessarily emotionally stunted, he could feel empathy, but he'd spent so long keeping everyone out and away from him that he still struggled mightily to offer even the simplest sorts of compliments or reassurances, even to those who deserved them.

He wasn't like that fucking Hero, who could always say the right thing at the wrong time and still make a girl happy, even if he was oblivious to it in the heat of the moment. Or do the wrong thing at the right time, and put a smile on someone's face when they were having a bad day. He didn't have that sort of easy way with people that the Hero did, even if he wasn't aware of his own charisma. Even interacting with the people he cared about the most, like Last Order, and now, Bayloupe perhaps, was agony for him as he tried to think about what he should do, and then didn't do it because it was embarrassing or annoying.

He HATED being embarrassed, and hated even more the idea of being weak, of being vulnerable, and it was in moments of embarrassment that he did feel most vulnerable. Not physically, but emotionally. Being laughed at, or scorned, or reviled by those he respected and cared about. His friends and family… and what a pair of concepts those were, for someone like him… continually surprised and stunned him with their acceptance of him, despite everything he had done, and everything he continued to do and be. But that didn't always quell that insidious voice deep down in the back of his head that whispered that it couldn't last, that one day he would screw up too bad, or be too rude and standoffish, or overreact too violently to a small embarrassment, and it would all be lost to him and he'd be nothing but a bloody handed monster again…

That feeling, that voice, that fear, no, terror of failure, of regression into the thing he used to be, was always with him. The terror that only a denizen of the darkness could feel after finally getting a taste of the world of light, while still feeling the pull of darkness in every action. Sometimes louder, sometimes quieter, but always there, unseen but felt in every interaction. He hated it, he would kill it if he could, but there was no vector for his own guilt and self-doubt. It was always with him. Always.

Except that morning, on the couch, when Bayloupe had reached out to his chin and tilted his face so their lips could meet, and moved closer to him as their tongues touched, the kiss prolonged, and the rest of the world, both outwardly and inwardly, had receded away from him. Her presence, her heat, the smell of her sweat and perfume, the feel of her clothes and her skin on his as she moved to straddle his lap, as the first kiss ended and was immediately subsumed into a second, even more intense one. Drowning everything out, blocking everything out, dissolving time, warping space, banishing all thought from his brain. In those moments, Accelerator, along with all his doubts and guilt, ceased to exist, and in his place there was only a teenage boy, a mere, glorious human being, making out with an attractive girl who was VERY into him…

Accelerator knew the mechanics of sex, the biology and chemistry that governed human attraction and intimacy. He had covered such subjects during his advanced personal curriculum well before he reached what would have been puberty for normal people, and was… not quite that for him, with his imbalanced hormones from his constant Reflection. He wasn't entirely asexual, even if he was somewhat androgynous in appearance, and he was finally going through more of puberty now that his reflection wasn't always on. But while he had long since intellectually understood sex, enough so that he could easily bluff when speaking with the Delta force and company about their various inane girl-focused topics, his personal experience was zero.

Back before his injury he had simply been uninterested in getting close to anyone, suspicious of the motives of anyone who might want to get close to him… and there had been offers, from other Ability Users and others outside the Ability program as well. Some of them may even have been genuine, not that it mattered to him at the time. Everyone was rejected. He was the Number 1, and he didn't need anyone else… not for anything, including sex.

After his injury, he had felt… and still often did feel… that he wasn't worthy of being loved, especially not romantically. That, combined with his still depressed hormone levels, had put him in the frame of mind where, as Kagere, that smarmy bastard, had once put it during one of their first interactions, his fetishes were so specific he could walk into a room full of naked women and not bat an eyelid. Which had indeed occurred to him, more than once, since Yomikawa and Yoshikawa consistently refused to lock the bathroom door when bathing. Not to mention Estelle and her antics, and Worst's more hardcore teasing, and Last Order's accident-prone nature.

So he had lived his entire life alone, uninterested or unworthy, and for much of it, so hormonally imbalanced that even masturbation didn't feel worth it to him, as it was difficult to get aroused or stay aroused. Less difficult nowadays, which was both interesting and humiliating depending on when it occurred, but he was given to understand that was par for the course for puberty. But yet another factor that had perhaps subconsciously caused him to keep girls away was that he was… concerned… about making a total fool of himself in an attempt at intimacy, especially if the girl herself was as inexperienced and awkward as he was. And he HATED to make a fool of himself!

But with Bayloupe, perhaps because she was very experienced herself, that had not been an issue. Aside from the one smart remark about popping his cherry, she had been entirely, silently accommodating of him, and the fact that he had no earthly idea of what to do after she started kissing him. Indeed, for pretty much the entire make out session that had followed that gentle kiss, he had more or less sat immobile on the couch, stunned into near statue-like stillness. He didn't even move his hands to embrace Bayloupe, or explore her body. All the touching, all the intimacy, was driven by and controlled by her.

Only at the very end, when even his dazed and disoriented mind had noticed that the heat of the passionate kisses was dying down, the rubbing and pressing of her fit and healthy body against his pale and wan one getting lighter and less frequent, had he reached out for her. Not wanting to stop. Not wanting to let go of basking in the sheer, unrivaled bliss of intimate human contact. Just barely touching her waist and back, his grip limp and unsure, but the sound she had made, the near groan and the soft smile that was more like a twitch of her lips, had made him DEEPLY regret only doing it at the very end, when she was on the verge of leaving.

But though the world had disappeared to his perceptions while she was on his lap and grinding against him, that didn't mean it actually stopped turning, and the harsh reality of life could not be ignored forever. Though for a brief, furious moment when Bayloupe had pushed off his lap after one last deep kiss with their tongues tangling forcefully, Accelerator had almost petulantly wondered, that if he tried hard enough, could he actually slow down the rotation of the planet enough to get a little more time with her? Poleaxed by the makeout session, he'd been in a near stupor until she had already left with a smug smile on her face to go about the rest of her day, leaving him alone again, to stew on what had happened.

So it was, that by the time afternoon had arrived, he had stewed for so long he was boiling dry. The thought of masturbation for a sense of closure had occurred to him, and in the wake of that make out session, his body was in a state where it would have been possible. But… he didn't actually know how. Well, in the most general terms, he did, it wasn't rocket science… but he had to weigh the thought of satisfying himself, against the new concept that if he waited, maybe Bayloupe would do it for him, later that night. He always did like to take the route of getting other people to make his life easier if he could…

Bored and irritable, and maybe just a tad bit frustrated-horny… damn her for probably knowingly leaving him in such a state... Accelerator decided to go for a walk to cool himself down and work out some of his idle energy. Bayloupe wasn't due back for a couple more hours yet, so he had the time. Lancis and Fleur, or whatever her name was, hadn't yet come by, which just made the likelihood of them doing so all the greater, and in his current mood he didn't want to have to deal with them and either their teasing or their questions. So, getting out for a bit seemed like the best idea.

His feet carried him down the road towards the convenience store that Bayloupe had mentioned before. He didn't really need anything from it, but it was a destination, and that's what he needed, a place to go, even if only to turn around and come back. And he might as well see what was on offer… the last time he'd been in England, he hadn't exactly done much in the way of shopping, and especially not on his own or for practical rather than touristy purposes.

It was only a half a mile as Bayloupe had said, but unlike most of his walks in Academy City, the English road was not a straight one, but rather twisted back and forth as it slowly descended from the forested hills towards the alluvial plain that held the city of Blackpool. There wasn't anything in the way of pedestrian traffic aside from himself, and while some of the other houses and properties he passed by looked occupied or in use, he didn't see any other people until he was nearly to the store.

He drew some looks, but he was so used to that he paid it no mind anymore. His appearance was pretty unusual after all, basically albino, with his cane as well. There was a group of older teenagers and young adults that had the look of a local gang hanging out against the brick wall of the convenience store. They were smoking and sniggering together, in the way that gangs of young men do, trading what passed for barbed wit and harsh burns between them, and while they did give accelerator a bit of an eyeing as he approached, his lordly disdain clearly communicated itself to them and they gave him no hassle as he passed.

Inside, the convenience store really wasn't that much different from similar stores he visited in Academy City. A little less modern in décor perhaps, but still with rows of shelves forming aisles down the middle of the store, and more shelves holding more items along the walls, with a couple cash registers in front. In Academy City, some stores of this type were fully automated, with self-checkout and security cameras to ensure people properly paid, but just as many were manned by either student workers or adult service specialists. The main difference he could immediately see between here and back home, was that there was no rack of manga and other periodical magazines by the cashiers, and the offerings of this store seemed to be somewhat more diverse… household items and even some clothes, instead of just snacks and drinks and entertainment like in the City.

Accelerator wandered up and down the aisles, idly eying the merchandise, mentally converting the price from Pounds Sterling to Yen, sneering at some things that he thought were overpriced, noting some others that actually might be a good deal if he was interested. He had to stifle a snort as he passed a freezer section and saw an English language ad for "Kuroneko-Chan's Never Melt Ice Cream", with the eponymous black-hair in pigtails catgirl-maid mascot posing on it. He knew the story behind that one, and it was a riot. It was incredibly overpriced though, compared to what it cost back in the City, though perhaps not surprising considering it had to be imported across half the world.

Pausing, he decided to grab a pint-sized carton, of chocolate flavor, more or less on a whim. He didn't know if Bayloupe liked ice cream, or what flavors if she did. And the Never Melt stuff was a different experience entirely. Still, he remembered from various conversations with the Hero and his idiotic friends, that girls often favored chocolate for various reasons, including romantic ones. Perhaps especially romantic ones… the blue haired pervert could wax excruciatingly lyrical about the virtues of sharing chocolates with a girl in various situation. He'd tuned him out in the past, but now he almost regretted ignoring most of it.

Continuing on with his browsing, Accelerator eventually found himself in a certain aisle, not out of any particular intent but simply as a natural consequence of exploring the store. This particular aisle dealt with health and hygiene products, such as shampoo, deodorant, and shaving razors. Also diapers for babies, and makeup for women. And there also happened to be a small section holding a selection of cardboard boxes containing a certain special type of hygiene product of use only in one particular type of situations. It was a section he passed through without thinking all the time back home in the City, but today it stopped him short.

 _Should I… buy these?_ Accelerator asked himself, a faint fluster appearing on his cheeks as he contemplated the selection of condoms, divided into lubricated and non-lubricated types, as well as a somewhat surprisingly variety of different subtypes, such as ribbed, textured, temperature reactive, and more. _I mean, Bayloupe did say that… going all the way… was an option she was comfortable with. And if not with her, then with who? I mean, if she wants to, then we might as well… try. But… would it send the wrong message if I buy them without asking or confirming with her first? I don't want to come across like sex is all I can think about all of a sudden… even if it's been hard to stop thinking about her today. No… no, ESPECIALLY because its been hard to stop thinking about her! I don't want her to think I'm getting desperate or the like…_

Accelerator grimaced and turned aside, but managed to take only a single step before a different perspective presented itself to him. _On the other hand, if… IF… the situation turns towards sex of its own accord, just flows in that direction, it would be a serious hassle to have to stop and come buy some, especially on that fucking scooter! And… and what if she came with me? Bad enough trying to decide on ice cream flavors, I didn't realize fucking CONDOMS had flavors too, shit! It would be so humiliating, having to buy condoms with her there and the clerk watching us… especially if she wanted the more exotic types!_

He turned back towards the condom boxes and inspected them more carefully. If it was a choice between buying them himself, and buying them with Bayloupe accompanying him, then there was no choice there. He would rather face that bullshit Curtana sword and its Dimensional Severing, scalar cutting fuckery again, before he would go buying safe sex items with his… his girlfriend! _Lubricated seems like the best idea. From what I remember from biology, the reproductive system requires a fair amount of lubricant during the process to remain comfortable and facilitate the survival of the sperm in the…_ Accelerator's thoughts trailed off as he recalled that most of his biology lessons had covered sex as a vehicle for reproduction, not pleasure. And the one session of actual sex ed he'd received from Yomikawa was one he never wanted to remember again. _God fucking damn it all, I don't need that sort of shit in my mind!_

 _Focus, damn it. This is not vector manipulation complexity, it's just buying some godforsaken condoms!_ He admonished himself sternly. _Lubricated then… WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS!? SIZES!? WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT ABOUT!? And why is it only large and extra-large!? Aren't there any for… for normal people!?_ He thought in both rage and a little trepidation. He was under no illusions as to his own physical parameters after all, and about the best that could be said for him was that he wasn't below average for a thin, untoned, pasty skinned NEET, as Last Order liked to call him to annoy him. But that left a lot to be desired all things told.

He briefly pictured buying some of the extra-large condoms, and then seeing the pitying look on Bayloupe's face as the contraceptive device engulfed his erect penis like a child trying on their parent's trenchcoat. The mere thought was enough to piss him off so much it took serious effort not to flip his choker on and level the entire goddamn STORE! And maybe the rest of the block for good measure! _Calm down, calm down. It's probably not that bad. Probably just a propaganda thing. Label the normal size ones "large", and put out a slightly larger type called "extra-large" for those with serious self esteem issues. They're supposed to be stretchy after all, almost one size fits all._ Accelerator assured himself.

He picked up a box of "large" lubricated condoms, the normal, vanilla kind, with no flavors or ribs or nodules or whatever the fuck else people might want on something that was ostensibly meant to prevent the spread of STD's and limit the odds of accidental pregnancies! And that was when an even more horrible thought suddenly occurred to him. _Can… CAN I even buy these!?_ He wondered in a real sense of panic. Accelerator didn't know exactly how old he was, along with his true name, such details had been lost in the murky parts of his dark past. But he wasn't as old as Bayloupe, and he was in the same class as the Hero at school and presumably Yomikawa had some ability to judge the age of a student. So that mean he was probably between sixteen and seventeen. Which was still below the age of majority in most of the world… he was a minor, technically.

In Academy City this was not an issue. Any storekeeper foolish enough to deny him the ability to purchase whatever the hell he wanted, would not persist in such stupidity for long, not if they wanted to keep their store from being blown the hell up anyway. He was the Number 1, and that gave him a lot of leeway in his personal life, including being treated as an adult by most people. But here in England he was just Accelerator, nobody knew him, and while blowing up the store was still an option, he figured Bayloupe might not appreciate that kind of drama. Perhaps even dislike it enough that the make out session from the morning might be the last such contact he would get for a while, and that would be... unpleasant.

In England, the age requirement for buying a lot of adult things, like alcohol, cigarettes… and contraceptives/safe sex products… was 18 years, he was pretty sure. Which meant that it was all too likely that the store clerk would refuse to sell him the condoms, until he came back with someone old enough to authorize the transaction. Which would mean calling Yomikawa and getting her to fax some sort of permission slip… completely out of the FUCKING QUESTION… or coming back with Bayloupe in tow, which was also what he didn't want!

 _There is the possibility she already has some stocked up._ Accelerator somewhat belatedly realized. Bayloupe had put sex on the table as a form of intimacy between them that morning after all. He doubted she would have offered if she was not prepared to follow all the way through, she was organized like that. Which logically meant she probably had either condoms or morning after pills ready somewhere. Logically. Accelerator wasn't feeling very logical about this subject.

 _Easiest thing to do would be to call and ask her, I suppose._ He thought, with serious trepidation. Just the thought of calling her up and trying to casually ask if she had stocked up on condoms or not, made him feel nauseous. It would be the mature thing to do, of course. Logically speaking. In the end, he put the box of condoms back, and went to check out. He then left the store and leaned against the wall outside, and took out his phone. And spent several minutes staring at it, wondering who he should call.

He was extremely irritated that a part of him wanted to call the Hero and ask for some advice. The time difference would probably be inconvenient for him, but that didn't matter to Accelerator, it was a bonus even. The Hero deserved some grief in his life from time to time. Especially for the aggravation of being the first person to pop into Accelerator's mind when he encountered a difficult situation that didn't involve killing people or breaking things.

 _I really should call her._ Accelerator told himself, trying to be reasonable, as he brought up Bayloupe's number and highlighted it, so a simple thumb press would initiate the call. But his thumb was frozen, as his guts churned at the idea of saying what he would need to say. He stood like that for who knew how long, before someone intruded on his dilemma.

"Hey, buddy, you got a smoke I could bum off ya?" A male voice asked from beside him, causing Accelerator to startle for a moment as he realized he'd lost his situational awareness. He scowled ferociously, as he looked up to tell off the fool trying to cadge him for cigarettes. He saw a tall youth with blond hair and green eyes, wearing a leather jacket over a white tank top, with a tattoo of a large fish of some sort half visible on his upper chest. His mind still engaged with the dilemma involving condoms and Bayloupe, it took Accelerator a couple seconds to properly place that appearance.

"Hey there, Gimpy. Told ya I'd be seeing ya around…" Sharkey said with a vicious, ugly grin, as he hurled himself at Accelerator in a full-on tackle. He was barely out of arms reach, and with one hand on his cane, and the other on his phone, Accelerator had no hand free to activate his collar. Sharkey slammed into him and crushed him physically against the wall of the store, knocking the breath out of Accelerator in a pained wheeze.

His eyes bulging with fury, both at the stupid thug for not knowing who he was messing with, and at himself for being so off kilter he let the bastard get close enough to assault him, Accelerator dropped his phone and started to reach for his collar. But found he couldn't. Sharkey was bear hugging him, and had trapped his arms at his sides. And he wasn't strong enough to overpower the other youth. It wasn't intentional… the fish-guy didn't know who he was fucking with, at all. But intentional or not, his power was useless if he couldn't activate the collar… at least, if his life or those of his loved ones was not on the line. And Sharkey didn't seem to be trying to kill him.

Accelerator was still trying to figure out how to get a hand free to activate his collar, when Sharkey, still holding him tight in a bear hug, slammed his forehead forward into the bridge of Accelerator's nose. CRACK! And then blackness…

Xxxx

"Dat him?" One of the hoodlums who had been hanging out around the outside of the store earlier, when Accelerator walked by on his way to do his shopping, asked hopefully of Sharkey. He wasn't getting too close to the mob enforcer, standing over by the edge of the building. "Dat's the guy you were looking for, right? White hair, pasty, cane, and all that?"

"Yeah, that's the fucker all right." Sharkey replied, rubbing a sore spot on his forehead. Gimpy looked like a stiff breeze would knock him over, but he had a surprisingly hard head. Not hard enough though. Truth be told, when he had put the word out on the streets earlier that day, that he would pay 50 pounds for info or tips regarding the gimpy, white haired motherfucker claiming to be Bayloupe's boyfriend, he hadn't expected it to bear fruit the same damn day.

But now here he was, after being called by the hoodlum twenty minutes prior he'd dropped everything and rushed over to the store from across town. Not out of a desire to beat the shit out of the pasty-faced freak, or at least not entirely out of that desire. But because Sharkey could smell an opportunity when one was presented to him. That morning, he had been forced to retreat, because Gimpy's sudden arrival had nixed the little dynamic he had going with Bayloupe. The situation had no longer been under control, and it wasn't worth blowing the deal trying to regain the momentum at that point. There would be other opportunities.

But, just for spitballing's sake, if Gimpy Mc-freak-face was in fact Bayloupe's secret foreign boyfriend… though why a total hottie like her would put it out for someone like THAT was inexplicable… then that meant one thing to Sharkey. Well, two things. The first being "FUCK HIM UP" and the second being "LEVERAGE". Bayloupe herself wasn't the sort of girl to bow to threats or physical intimidation, he'd confirmed that this morning. And threatening her teammates was a no go because they were also Specialists themselves.

But her boyfriend on the other hand… well, that was a different story. He'd said he was from Academy City, and Sharkey had heard some strange stuff about what some kids from there could do, but he wasn't sure he believed it all. But, even presuming that Gimpy did have some kind of ability or power… it might explain why Bayloupe was into him since he was way under her league otherwise… Sharkey knew from the school of hard knocks that it didn't matter how big or scary your gun was, if you couldn't bring it to bear.

If he could catch Gimpy off guard, he could whomp him before any bullshit came into play, Sharkey was confident. The tricky part, or so he had assumed, would have been getting Gimpy off by his lonesome, outside of Bayloupe's house and away from her company. As a cripple and a physical weakling, Sharkey had expected Gimpy to be a homebody, letting Bayloupe do the shopping and heavy lifting and stuff, unlike a real man. Sharkey had anticipated needing several days to work out a plan to get Gimpy out where he could take a run at him. Putting the word on the street was just a means of keeping an eye out for him just in case.

But it seemed Gimpy was a fool as a well as a freak, because he had gone wandering off all by his lonesome on the very same day Sharkey had told him… TOLD HIM TO HIS FACE… that he was gonna get him! Stupid motherfucker. And now here he was, and Sharkey had confirmed all his assumptions… Gimpy really was a wimpy little bitch after all. He'd barely put up much of a fight at all, and his attempts to squirm free from Sharkey's grip had been pathetic. His kid brothers put up a better fight during play wrestling. And one good headbutt to his face and Gimpy was down on the ground, blood pouring from his nose as he twitched in semiconsciousness.

Sharkey put the boot in, kicking Gimpy on the side of the head, with just enough force to send him to night-night land. As much as he hated the fucker for daring to be Bayloupe's boyfriend, and sampling her fine goods before Sharkey got a chance himself, he didn't want to kill him. Sharkey didn't kill people after all. And killing her boyfriend would set Bayloupe against him with a mad vendetta, and that would be really bad for business. So he knocked the fucker out, and enjoyed the splash of blood on his boot a little more than usual.

Turning to his informant, he handed over fifty quid, and told the punk to get lost, which the other guy gladly did. This was mob business after all, not amateur hour. He then called up his boys with the white panel van, and told them to get there fifteen minutes ago. The local cops, and the store owner for that matter, knew not to fuck with him, but there was always a chance some random passerby wanting to play hero. He knelt down by Gimpy's side, almost like he was helping the bastard instead of ensuring he stayed put, just in case anyone was looking.

He pulled out some of those plastic zip ties the cops used as temporary cuffs, and restrained Gimpy's hands behind his back for good measure. He knew he could kick the albino's ass any day of the week, probably with one hand behind his back. But this wasn't about proving his manliness against Gimpy's, he wanted the bastard scared… and being tied up and helpless was a good start on that. He then reached down and pocketed Gimpy's phone, noting with irritation that the screen had Bayloupe's contact info on it, all highlighted and ready to go. Bastard had been about to call her, maybe looking for a pick up of some sort. That meant his boys really needed to get here already so they could move to a safer place for what came next. He did however, take the opportunity to lock the screen on… it would be useful later.

He kept a wary eye on Gimpy, as the last thing he needed was for the younger boy to wake up and start screaming or crying for help… at least right now. It'd be fine later, even musical to his ears, once he was properly isolated at one of Sharkey's hideouts. Sharkey then inspected Gimpy's cane, which seemed fairly high tech. He contemplated snapping it over his knee as an extra "fuck you" to Gimpy, but even if he was an amoral mobster, Sharkey wasn't a total monster. Breaking a crippled guy's walking cane, that was a step too far. Besides, he could save it for later and maybe do it in front of him if he got uppity.

Finally, his boys pulled into the lot with their panel van, just as dusk started to fall. Sharkey stood back and put an ice pack on his head, overseeing things as his guys hoisted Gimpy up, which normally took two guys working together, but Gimpy was so weedy that he was easily lifted by just one. They slapped tape across his bloodied mouth to keep him quiet, then shoved his head inside a black bag to keep him blind, ziptied his ankles together, and then ziptied his wrists to his ankles to secure him. They tossed him in the back of the van on the bare metal floor, and one of his guys got in the back with him to watch him just in case, while the others got in the front.

Watching the van peel away and head off down the road towards the dockside warehouse district, Sharkey smiled just like his namesake. This day had sucked to start with… but tonight was already shaping up to be pretty fun, it looked like…

Xxxx

Bayloupe basked in the feel of the early evening air flowing through her hair and over her Dragon's Horns as she puttered back towards home on the scooter. It might not be classy, and it might not be as useful as their car had been, but there were some upsides as well. Nothing beat the feeling of enjoying the evening air on a comfortable ride home after a long day of generally boring but at least somewhat profitable work. Nothing big, nothing that was really going to fix the huge fiscal hole that New Light was in. But enough to stave off debtors and creditors another day, and not make the problem any worse at least!

And her mood overall was still quite rosy from the events of the morning. It had started off well, though things had gotten a little hairy when that jackass Sharkey and his boys had come around to try and intimidate her and the rest of New Light into become trained bitches for the local mob… which was never going to happen, no matter how much money they offered or what sorts of silly threats they might make. She might have been forced to make some cosmetic concessions, maybe do a simple job for them to get them off her back, but even that had proved unnecessary when Accelerator had intervened.

It annoyed her that he had stepped in… she didn't need rescuing after all, not from street level trash like Sharkey and his boys… but also warmed her heart a little. He wouldn't have stepped in if he wasn't concerned, and during the brief altercation he had even seemed possessive of her. Which of course was part of why she had responded as she did, though that was also due to the Dragon's Horns getting ahold of her anger and pushing her to be territorial again. The kiss had been unplanned, but fortunately it had all worked out, better than expected even.

It had been quite a while for her after all, since the last time she had a dedicated make out session with someone she actually cared for. Being paid to do the same thing was entirely different, that was business, and while she had never failed to satisfy a paying client's desires, that didn't mean she acted the same way with them as she did with someone she cared about and liked, no matter how much she was paid. She felt it was similar to how sex workers and porn actors of all stripes were… sex might be the job, and acting hot and bothered and passionate was part of that, but true passion could never be bought with money or threats. It could only be given freely.

And she had given very freely indeed to Accelerator after he accepted both her confession and her second kiss! She might try to appear as the cool and collected beauty as much as possible, but she was still an eighteen year old girl with a newly reciprocated crush! One kiss had turned into another, and then she'd gotten her tongue involved, and the rest of her body as well, moving to straddle Accelerator's lap and all but pinning him to the couch as she devoured him for close to thirty minutes!

He wasn't the best kisser in the world, but she didn't hold that against him. He couldn't help his own inexperience, and in fact she found it unexpectedly adorable. She probably wouldn't tell him that though. Boys could be so sensitive about their sexual prowess, perhaps especially when they had next to none. And besides, for him it would just be a matter of learning how to be a better kisser, and she planned to give him a great deal of practice over the next six days and nights!

His responsiveness might have been low until the very last moments of the make out session, but that didn't mean it wasn't stimulating for her. Seeing the most powerful person she knew get flustered and heated and aroused because of the way she used her mouth and body was a power trip on its own! And the way he reacted when she started using tongue, oh my! He had tasted good too, clean and new and different, a toothpaste she didn't know, mixed with her new favorite brand of coffee, mixed with the unique flavor of his own body. Part of that was probably her crush altering her perceptions, but she didn't care, because it had been good… so good, and for both of them!

It was almost too bad that she had to cut it off after thirty minutes, as she had jobs in the morning and still needed to get cleaned up from her run. Though it was another point in accelerator's favor that he had not seemed to mind the fact that she was all sweaty when the making out started. And by the end of it she was moist with more than just sweat, and she had felt a hot stiffness within his own pants that had been quite intriguing, in a primal way.

Then again, rushing things would only cause a slip up or accident or something ese that would shake his confidence, she knew. It was inevitable of course, with a powerful virgin, he would reach further than he could grasp, and make a fool of himself somehow. Cumming too quickly, or not at all, or thrusting wrong or grabbing too hard or hitting her awkwardly with a foot or elbow… something would happen, it did to everyone. But having it happen on the first act of intimacy after accepting her confession would have soured him for the whole day, maybe longer. She wanted to build up his confidence with several good experiences before an embarrassing one happened.

All that said, Bayloupe was now determined that at some point before the end of the week, and ideally within the next few days, she would take his virginity. She could not offer her own, that was long since lost to her, under circumstances she had repressed as hard as she could. But it was perhaps for the best. Being able to use her experience to make Accelerator's transition into manhood as pleasant and easy and comfortable as possible was worth more than any exchange of "purities" ever could be!

 _I think maybe we'll try another make out session tonight. Before or after dinner, depending on his mood. Maybe this time he'll start with the petting and fondling before the final minute. That would be nice. I'm not delicate after all, I don't mind being grabbed and explored by the guy I like. I doubt he would go for any of the "forbidden" places, at least initially, but you don't have to grab a girl by her pussy or tits or ass to excite her, after all._ Bayloupe thought to herself with a flush on her cheeks. _Maybe, if all goes well, I can convince him to take off his shirt, or mine, before we take a break. Hmm. I wonder what sorts of fetishes he has? Maybe I should check with Lessar, see if she can get Kamijou to spill… if anyone would have heard some of Accelerator's guy secrets, it would have to be "that damn Hero". It's cute how he clearly admires him so much but won't admit it._

She pulled up to her house, and carried the scooter with her into the yard again, placing it by the garage door as she had the night before. She didn't see any sign of the other two scooters, belonging to Lancis and Floris, so either they had come and gone already, or had yet to come over. Almost too bad, she was looking forward to seeing Floris get bent out of shape over Accelerator still being unable to properly remember her name. She could get a little prideful, Floris could, partly due to her Dragon's Wings side effect, so it was good for her to get her ego pricked now and then. And Accelerator was a master at pricking people's egos.

Upon opening the front door, finding it unlocked, Bayloupe was a little surprised and dismayed to discover that the house was unoccupied. She could tell, both because the house was too quiet, and because the warding runes on the property were too placid… even if Accelerator wasn't refining his own mana, his mere presence as an unattuned male on a property dedicated to four girls should have upset the harmony of the wards in a manner detectable to her.

"Hmmph." Bayloupe exhaled in disappointment, wondering with a flash of irritation where her new boyfriend had managed to wander off to. It wasn't like she'd expected him to stay a prisoner in the house, or be waiting on the couch pining away for her all day long, or even in the kitchen making a welcome home snack for her or anything sappy like that. That wasn't the sort of affectionate that Accelerator was, at least not at this point in their relationship. More than likely, he'd barely even glance up at her from his seat on the couch and make some sort of pensive or annoyed "tch" sound, that was more his speed.

"He must have gone to the store." Bayloupe reasoned, still speaking out loud, as that was one of her methods of controlling her anger. Her Dragon's Horns had a tremendous upside, aiding her as they did in her comprehension of magical theory and her intuitive ability to conduct magical research, which was very helpful in constructing new magic tools, which had once been a staple of New Light's income. She was even able to symbolize them in a dual fashion as the legendary Gjallerhorn, allowing her to add Wisdom to her Steel Glove and cast thunder based magic, something unique to her amongst all of New Light.

But all of the Dragon Aspect augmentations that she had the rest of New Light had grafted to their bodies, during the formation period of New Light when they needed every possible advantage they could get just to survive, also had drawbacks. In Bayloupe's case, the Dragon's Horn's also symbolized a Dragon's wrath and intemperance, and exerted an influence on her own anger and rage when something pissed her off. If she wasn't careful to regulate and purge her anger, she could become violently destructive, even self-destructive in extremis. And they also made her territorial, which helped her when she was watching out for the other girls, but wasn't so helpful when it made her a little paranoid about where her boyfriend was and what he might be doing. Power never came for free after all, and that was doubly true of Magical powers.

Not that she thought Accelerator was any sort of risk of cheating or infidelity. He could barely talk to girls without insulting them or offending them after all, and even girls who liked jerks, like the Hibiki girl, or blatant fangirls like Kinuhata, wouldn't be able to entice him astray. They didn't have his trust, or not his full trust anyway, there was no real bond between them other than physical lust and potential affection… and that wasn't enough for a guy like him. So, any random girl he met while wandering the road or forest was right out. He'd be more likely to fling a strange girl into the ocean with vector manipulation than accept a kiss from one.

Grumbling under her breath, Bayloupe headed up to her room to change out of her working uniform, choosing a pair of leg hugging blue jeans and a somewhat loose cream white half sleeve shirt, over which she wore an button down blue and black short sleeve shirt, with all the buttons open. Lessar, Floris and Lancis sometimes liked to tease her about the fact that a lot of her casual outfits were rather… boyish… in style, but Bayloupe didn't care if people thought her tomboyish… her feminine assets were clear to see for anyone with functioning eyes and brain after all. Not all tomboys were like the tsundere Railgun of Tokiwadai, after all.

Barefoot, she headed downstairs to the kitchen, her disgruntlement growing as Accelerator still wasn't back, and hadn't even left her a message on her phone saying where he was or what he was up to. She grabbed a coffee from the fridge and popped the tab to suppress a growl of irritation. The Horns were starting to feel a little achy and hot, a sure sign that she was getting bothered in a bad way. She did her best to control her breathing and think happier thoughts. There was a surefire method of purging the Horn's influence, but she didn't feel like doing it right then.

She took a seat on the couch, right where she and Accelerator had cuddled and kissed that morning… she didn't believe his protests about not being a cuddler… if there was anyone in the world more desperate for human touch and human contact than him, she could not imagine it! She slowly drank the can of coffee, forcing herself not to chug it, and felt a little less pissed off by the time she was done. She checked her phone again, and felt some of that relief fading… still no new messages.

After about fifteen minutes of calming down and then getting pissed again, finally her phone buzzed with an incoming text message. "Fucking finally!? Where the hell are you!?" She swore angrily, flipping up her phone and glaring at the screen. At first, the image on her screen made no sense to her, and even less the text caption below it. The image was a picture of a metallic cane that was splattered with what looked like red paint up and down its length and on the floor around it, which looked dirty and well worn.

And the text beneath was "Lose something?" with a smiley face that was a mini-emoji in the shape of a grinning shark head…


	4. Blood and Sweat and

**Author Note:**

 **My apologies to those who found my portrayal of Accelerator's little "difficulty" last chapter to be out of place. I know full well how dangerous and sharp Accelerator is, both canonically and in ACIP, my source material. He is not lightly caught off guard for anything. Though in both canon and ACIP, he has been tricked or otherwise caught off his guard when he relaxed before, let us bear in mind, and with arguably more at stake than his own safety. My intention was to show that even the most powerful, experienced and otherwise worldly of people can still be surprised when their mind is on other matters. And raise the interesting, to me, idea, of what if someone actively conspired to keep Accelerator from flipping his collar, much like what would happen if someone played keep away from Touma rather than facing him in melee all the time? Especially an emotionally charged and difficult decision like Accelerator was contemplating at the time. You can rest assured that he won't be making any mistakes of that nature again.**

 **Plus, it appealed to my sense of whimsy to have Accelerator be the one "rescued" for once, even though he obviously does not need it and would not even think of it that way. It's mostly the female characters that get taken hostage in canon and fanfics after all, though perhaps not surprisingly since the majority of characters are female. Just another little secret for him and Bayloupe to share and bond over, hopefully.**

 **Enough about last chapter. The best rebuttal to reader concerns is to tie what happened before into better events in the future, in my opinion. This chapter will contain bloody violence and maimery, and, hopefully, steamy smut (reader mileage may vary, depending on how you like your sex scenes).**

Xxxx

Zzzzt. Zzzzt. Zzzzt. The buzzing of the cellphone lying on the metal table set up on the boundary of the taped off section of warehouse floor immediately drew the eyes of everyone gathered round. Sharkey had barely even set the phone down after sending his little bombshell to Bayloupe after all, his hand still going back into his pocket as he turned to lean against the table. The gang leader cocked an eyebrow and let his trademark predatory grin creep across his face, as he reached back down to grab the vibrating phone.

"Fast response." He noted to his gang, as his grin widened. "Seems she's rattled. Stupid bitch shoulda kept a closer eye on her boytoy if she's so worried bout something happening to him…" Sharkey's eyes passed across the other tools and implements laid out on the metal table, without lingering overlong on any one of them. Most of them were for show, chosen for their grotesque appearance and ability to fire up the imagination, but he'd had occasion to use some of the simpler ones before, when some "guests" of his proved in need of a lesson in cooperation. There was also a pint-sized container of Kuroneko-chan's Never Melt Ice Cream, chocolate flavor. Spoils of war.

He held the buzzing phone in his hand, as if weighing it, as his gaze traveled across the floor of the taped off area, which was covered in plastic sheeting for ease of cleanup in case things got messy, and to the stout oaken chair set in the middle of the space. His latest "guest" sat in said chair, arms pulled behind the tall back at an awkward and uncomfortable angle, wrists secured with metallic handcuffs through an eyebolt screwed into the base of the seat. The teenage guy's ankles were likewise secured with a chain through a ring in the floor beneath the chair.

Perhaps it was overkill, using chains for a high school age kid, and a crippled one to boot, but something about this kid just wasn't right, and Sharkey didn't like it. Apparently, the kid had woken up near the end of the trip to the warehouse in the back of the panel van, and he'd been screwing with Sharkey's boys' heads ever since then. The guy riding in the back of the van with him had been pale as a ghost and sweating nervous buckets by the time the van got to the warehouse, based purely on the murderous glare the kid was giving him!

He hadn't resisted in any physical way… trussed up like a hog to slaughter, bound and gagged, there was no way he could… but the sheer, palpably dark aura of murderous rage that clung to the albino kid was… unlike anything Sharkey had ever encountered. He was a mobster, and he ran a tough crew, boys who didn't scare easy, or back down from hard shit. But the look on Accelerator's face as they tied him down to that chair and took photos of his bloodied cane? It was like nothing he'd ever experienced. Like nothing human at all! It was the mask of a demon-beast, crimson eyes glaring through a mask of drying blood from his smashed nose.

Just feeling those eyes on him had been giving him shivers up and down his spine, and a loose feeling in his bowels. And his boys were even worse. They tiptoed around the bastard like he was a giant bomb, just waiting to go off and rip them all to red ruin, not a helpless kid with a bloody nose, shackled to a chair. It was completely ruining the mood Sharkey wanted to set for the scenario, so he'd eventually had a black bag shoved over the albino's head. It did little to dissipate the dark aura that clung to the guy like a psychic miasma, but at least the burning pressure of that demonic gaze was cut off!

Sharkey let the phone buzz all the way until it rang through to voicemail. Bayloupe had responded a lot faster to his provocation than he thought she would. An uncommon sign of weakness from a Specialist. Seems he really had hit the jackpot with this Accelerator guy, even if it burned him up a bit inside for Bayloupe to so obviously favor such a weakling as her boyfriend. But her desperation would make the coming scenario of negotiation and deal-making all the sweeter, he supposed. He waited a few more minutes while grinning, and sure as shit, a second phone call started coming through. This one, he answered.

"Hey there babe, sorry about missing you before. I was making sure your boytoy was made real comfortable…" Sharkey paused, his brows lowering for a moment in mingled disbelief and annoyance at Bayloupe's reply. "The fuck're you on about!? Yeah, I fucking really have him, are you stupid?" Sharkey listened some more and rolled his eyes expressively, earning some chuckles from his guys. "Look, I'm sure he's a superhero, babe, whatever, but that doesn't change the fact that I have him, and if YOU don't smarten up, I'm gonna send him back to you… in a variety of oddly shaped pieces no bigger than my hand, over a period of days or weeks, ok?"

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Sharkey went on after hearing an expressive silence. "We tried talking to you nicely. Then we tried explaining the reality of the situation in plain terms. You didn't want to listen either way. So now we're speaking a different sort of language, and I really hope, for your boyfriend's sake, that you're feeling more reasonable this time. So, you ready to listen now, or do you want me to make him scream for you, and verify his presence with me?"

"Oh, I will go on, babe." Sharkey responded to her curt reply with a nearly lip tearing grin. "At length even, since I'm the one with a captive audience after all. Ok, this is how this going to work, babe. I'll provide you with an address. You will go to that address, alone and unarmed. You will not tell anyone where you're going or why, either your friends or the authorities. Some of my guys will meet you there and check you for signs you're trying to get cute… and babe, if you try to get cute, I promise you, your little boytoy will be screaming your name all night long, and not in pleasure! Assuming you are still playing things smart though, they'll then escort you here. Where we have a contract for you to sign regarding your new relationship with the mob. Once that is done, we can talk about how many pieces your boyfriend is going home in. I'll tell you now, babe, I'm… amenable to being seduced as a bribe."

Sharkey's grin turned a bit ugly at Bayloupe's answer to his provocative hint, which left no doubt as to her opinion of him as a person and as a man. "Careful now, babe, let's not make this personal ok? You ain't gonna like what I might end up doing to your boyfriend if things get personal. Besides, if you wanna talk dirty to me, I'd rather you do it in person, so you can whisper in my ear… tch…" Sharkey glared at his phone, which had gone to a dead line. "Bitch is asking for it." He grumbled under his breath, eying a stout piece of lead pipe on the table, and then contemplating Accelerator. And hesitating. Reconsidering the pros and cons of a salutatory lesson.

"Whatever. Bitch can talk tough if she wants. She'll be singing a sweeter tune soon enough." Sharkey shrugged it off, as he texted Bayloupe the address of one of the other properties he owned in the dockyard area. He didn't think she'd be stupid, despite her adversarial attitude, she had worked on the shady side of things enough, this sort of situation couldn't be unknown to her, if probably never this personally involved before. But it never hurt to be sure, especially with a Specialist. Sharkey took out his own phone and called some of his people he had watching the other two members of Bayloupe's group, who were sharing a fairly posh hotel room in the downtown area while Bayloupe and her boyfriend were cavorting in their house.

"Keep watching them. If they manage to slip away from you guys, I'll take more than just a bite out of your sorry asses, got me?" He told his surveillance crew to help them stay motivated and alert. They assured him that neither of the two other girls would be able to take so much as a step outside without them reporting it. The pervs were probably doing their best to try and peer in the windows and catch the younger girls undressing, knowing them. Well, whatever kept their minds on the job, right?

Sharkey turned back to the matter at hand, and after a few moments to steel himself, he stepped closer to Accelerator, and yanked the black bag off the kid's head, not being too careful about whether he pulled out some hair in the process or not. The glare was still there, threatening to turn his guts to water, but Sharkey forced himself not to show it and even to return a nasty sneer of his own. "Seems its your lucky day, asshole. Your girlfriend seems to care about you a lot, fuck if I can tell why though. Shame you have to be such a weak link though, right? Cause of you, all her hard-earned freedom's about to go away. Don't you worry none though… I'll make sure the mob treats her right… long as she plays nice for me anyway…"

The glare in Accelerator's eyes sharpened so much at Sharkey's taunting that the mob enforcer had to fight not to put a hand on his own chest just to be sure he wasn't bleeding himself, from the hole being stared through him. "You mad, bro?" Sharkey covered his unease with bravado, unable to shake the feeling he was poking something nasty with a stick, but also unable to resist gloating about his conquest to come. "Trust me, you ain't mad yet, kid. Before you go home tonight, I'll be showing you how a real man handles a girl like her. She'll forget all about you by morning, I bet. Oh… oh, you wanna say something to me? Eh? Eh, you wanna say something to me!?" Sharkey half turned away, before swinging back around, lashing out with a roundhouse punch that smacked Accelerator's head to the side, speckles of partially dried and fresh blood flying from his face and nose across the plastic sheeting.

"Bitch, you don't get to say shit to me, so just sit there and glare like the impotent little fuck you are." Sharkey shook out his hand and grabbed the black bag again. He was just about to put it back down on Accelerator's head when something caught his eye. "So, what the fuck is the deal with this collar of yours anyway? And these fucking wires? They look like they're going into your damn head?" Sharkey allowed his grin to become a little inhuman as well. "Wonder what would happen if I were to pull them out, eh? Maybe we can find out together, with Bayloupe, later on, eh?" He studied Accelerator's face, but there wasn't a hint of fear or trepidation to be found. Just fury and a killing lust that gave him the creeps all over.

"Fuck it, you're fucked in the head somehow." Sharkey blustered, and shoved the bag back down over Accelerator's head. Doing his best to walk tall and straight and slow away from his hostage, and not go running across the room for a hole to find and pull in after him. _Well, let him do the hardass act for now. We'll see a different face once Bayloupe is here, I'll wager…_ Sharkey told himself. Doing his best to believe it…

Xxxx

"How the fuck is this happening right now!?" Bayloupe muttered angrily under her breath, as her scooter putt-putted through the city streets towards the dockyard district, where the address Sharkey had sent her was located. Darkness had fallen, but it was still relatively early in the night, so the streets were crowded with traffic as locals and tourists alike went about their business. That slowed her progress, even with the scooter's ability to slip between cars and travel down narrow alleys, but she wasn't in too much of a rush either.

 _How the fuck is this happening, at all!?_ She groused inside her own head, still half disbelieving that this could actually be happening. Accelerator. The strongest person she knew. The Slayer of Cain. Number 1 of Academy City. Master of Vectors, and of those wings of darkness… and light. Taken hostage, by a bunch of two-bit mob thugs barely a step above the gangs on the street. It beggared belief! It was surreal to even consider!

But how else could she explain the picture of that cane, not to mention it coming in from Accelerator's own phone? He wasn't like a certain spikey haired hero of their mutual acquaintance… he didn't randomly lose important items, like his cane or his phone. And Accelerator wasn't the sort to get pick-pocketed or the like either. The only way they could have his phone is if they had taken it from him personally. But HOW!? Bayloupe would have comfortably sworn before an inquisition that no earthly force existed which could compel Accelerator to give up his property against his will… much less defeat him and take him hostage!

The only thing that made even the tiniest lick of sense was that it must have been an incredible stroke of luck. Misfortune of a level to stun even Touma Kamijou on Accelerator's part, and an equal amount of good luck on the part of Sharkey or his gang. Somehow or other, Accelerator must have lowered his guard, for unknown reasons. And Sharkey must have jumped him, with incredibly lucky timing, probably with a whole pack of guys backing him up, and managed to prevent him from flicking his collar on. That was the only possible way it could have happened. Unlikely in the extreme. But when all other explanations were even crazier…

 _Why now!? What sins am I being punished for, that this had to happen NOW, on the very day I made our relationship official, and just before a very promising night together…_ Bayloupe almost moped, a depressive air hanging around her as she trundled towards her destination. _Regardless of how it happened, he's going to be FURIOUS!_ Just thinking about it was making her shiver and feel a little sick to her stomach. _This is not going to end well…_

She was still wearing her working uniform, but had removed all the bags and boxes that she had strapped to the back and sides of the scooter, which contained her auxiliary items and materials used for her day to day jobs… better to have as wide a selection on hand as possible, so that if she needed something for a particular spell or magical working, she didn't have to delay the job by returning home to get something. Speed of service was still important to keeping the customer happy, even when dealing with magical jobs.

Of course, that didn't mean she had followed Sharkey's instructions to the letter. He had told her to come unarmed, but that wasn't going to happen. For one, with the Dragon's Horns serving as her symbolic Gjallerhorn, she always had the Thunder attribute waiting to be used. Primarily she channeled it through her Steel Glove, but she was capable of channeling it through other weapons, including her body if need be. There was some backlash in that case, but it was still an option of last resort. And for that matter her Steel Glove was with her as well… as part of its mythological underpinnings, it was related to a belt, and that meant it could be "collapsed" into the form of a belt for easy carrying. In her case, it looked to be a simple blue canvas belt that helped hold up her skirt under the hem of her sports jersey.

But to the untrained and unsuspecting eye, the Dragon's Horns were just an oddball fashion accessory, and the carry form of the Steel Glove was just a belt. Even if they frisked her, and Bayloupe expected that they would, there was nothing for them to find unless they were employing magical detectors somehow. Which would be bad, obviously, for other magicians to be involved with the mob at such a low level. But if that was the case, then rapid retreat and calling in her friends, and potentially, some of Accelerator's, would be the only sensible course of action.

But that was an option Bayloupe DEARLY wished to avoid. Sharkey had told her not to call the authorities or the other members of New Light, but he could not have known that such was the furthest thing from what she wanted to do. Certainly, Floris and Lancis would be helpful in containing this unexpected situation and ensuring it was wrapped up nice and neat in a timely manner. But then they would know about it. And they might even talk about it to Lessar. And then EVERYONE would know about it! And that was the worst possible outcome.

Because, one in a million coincidence or not, Accelerator had to be feeling completely humiliated by this situation. She wasn't sure he would even consent to being "rescued" by her alone… if she brought the rest of New Light along and they saw him being held hostage, his embarrassment would be incandescent, and only salved through insane levels of indiscriminate violence! The teasing they would give him would be good natured, but still more than his relatively fragile ego could bear, she was sure. And Floris and Lancis hadn't seen him when he cut loose before… they didn't KNOW, despite her warnings, how dangerous setting him off would be… potentially even for them!

And if the people from Academy City found out, then all bets were off. The teasing from his school friends or his fellow Level 5's would be bad enough, but Bayloupe had the feeling that Last Order wouldn't find it amusing in any way, and the young girl would completely forbid letting Accelerator out of her sight again for a while. Which would make any sort of dating relationship impossible. Not to mention that Bayloupe would feel like she'd let the other girl down, allowing Accelerator to be hurt while on vacation with her. It wasn't logical, that she should assume custody for his "safety", given the power disparity between them. But when it came to Last Order and her feelings of protectiveness towards Accelerator, logic had nothing to do with it.

So, for the sake of Accelerator's pride, and Bayloupe's romantic dreams, not to mention her own pride as well, this little travesty had to be resolved completely under the radar. No one could be allowed to know what had happened, or that anything had happened at all, unless there was absolutely no choice in the matter. What that meant for Sharkey and his boys, Bayloupe was still deciding. Despite everything, she didn't really want to kill them. That would spark a feud with the mob after all, and would basically nix any chances of New Light being able to establish themselves in Blackpoole. They could move, again, but resources were already thin… another displacement could put them on the ragged edge, and might force her to make some more moral and personal compromises again… selling her principles, if not her body.

She was still debating the best ways to scare Sharkey and his gang into silence and leaving her and New Light alone for good, when she puttered into the parking lot of the dockside loan shop that Sharkey had given her the address for. Several rough and shady looking characters were lounging around near the door, clearly waiting for her, as they straightened when she pulled up a few feet away, all dark grins and probing eyes in their leather jackets and ripped jeans as they began to swagger towards her, a wall of meat and overconfidence.

Heaving a sigh of disdain and exasperation, Bayloupe got off the scooter and stood patiently as they approached. "Shut up." She cut the leader of this goon squad off before the mouth breather could even make a single comment. She held her arms out to the sides and gave them an aristocratic sneer, literally turning her nose up at them. "Do your job, and spare me the comments, guys. Keep it professional, and maybe I won't decide to remember your faces for later." She advised them coldly.

Of course, they weren't that smart. Give a weak man a little power and he'd start thinking he was God's gift to the world. Women too, though not as often as she saw it happening to men. "Shut up, yourself, bitch." The leader of the goons retorted with a snarl, as he and his guys crowded in around her from three sides. "You do as we say, or your boyfriend pays the price."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Get this over with, would you? I have places to be. Things to do." Bayloupe wasn't in the mood for banter or posturing with lickspittles.

"I oughta smack you one, but the boss wouldn't like that." The leader of the greeting squad blustered. He turned to his meathead friends. "Hold her steady." He commanded them, and they reached out to grab hold of her wrists and forearms, one bulky biker-dude per arm. Bayloupe might almost have been impressed with how seriously they were taking her… if they still weren't totally underestimating what she was capable of. Just laying hands on her at all put the advantage completely on her side.

The goon leader took his time in frisking her, running his hands up and down each of her limbs, including up under her skirt, several times, from front and rear. Probing, poking, even sneaking an occasional grope or fondle. Bayloupe stood as still as a statue, like an ice sculpture, making neither sound nor expression, as his illicit "frisking" dragged on. This was not the most loathsome man to touch her, nor the most obscene way she'd ever been touched against her will. That didn't mean she liked it, she was carefully memorizing each of their faces for later instruction in how to properly stay professional and treat women. But any reaction at all, even anger or disdain, would only fuel their puerile fantasies, so the only thing she gave them was nothing at all. And predictably, the guy spent so much time feeling up her tits and crotch and ass that even if she HAD been trying to smuggle in a regular weapon, he probably wouldn't have found it anyway. He didn't check her shoes or even the small of her back! Certainly, he found nothing suspicious about her belt.

Nor did he attempt to inspect her Dragon's Horns, for which Bayloupe was relieved. Though technically a prosthetic, the Horns were bonded to her both spiritually and physically in a very real sense, including to the point where she had tactile sensation with them, if somewhat distant and dull in most situations. One of her nuclear buttons was for someone to try to handle her Horns without permission… permission she never gave. Even Lessar knew better than to try and futz with her Horns… even if Bayloupe couldn't always return the favor, since getting the Tail out of the way was necessary to give Lessar the spankings she so often deserved.

Finally, Sharkey's boy had gotten his fill of trying to make her react to his hands-on approach to searching her for weapons, clearly disappointed by her complete lack of reaction. He glared at her like she'd insulted him by filing to even frown at his groping, but he lacked the balls to do anything about it. Without even lifting a finger in resistance, Bayloupe had already proved to him, in that primal way, that she was completely out of his league, and always would be.

"Feh. Ok, let's not keep the boss waiting." He declared to his two friends to save face. Bayloupe allowed the slightest hint of a smirk to cross her face, watching his face turn red from his impotent rage. One of the musclemen kept a grip on her forearms, pulling them behind her back, where they used plastic zip ties to temporarily secure them. Bayloupe did not resist, because she could easily snap such things with her Steel Glove enhanced strength… just because it wasn't in weapon form, didn't mean she could not access its powers. They tried to stick her head in a bag to serve as a blindfold for the trip to their base, but they couldn't get it down over her Horns… for obvious reasons, they made a lot of headwear difficult to say the least.

"Touch the Horns and we're going to have a problem." Bayloupe told the men icily, when she felt them start to reach for them to work the bag down past the bridge of her nose. After a long moment, she felt the hands withdraw, as they clearly decided that it was "good enough", even though half the bag was flopping around like a half-filled water balloon on top of her head. "Just take me to Sharkey already. Wouldn't want your boss to think you were trying to keep me for yourselves, now would we?" Bayloupe prodded them with a nasty smirk.

From there, things went more professionally, as the three men guided her into the back of a car, where two of them, the groper and one of the musclemen, joined her, one to drive the other in the back to watch her, as they drove a twisting course through the dockyards for a few minutes. Trying to throw off her sense of direction and position. Uselessly of course… inside the back of her panties, where a tag would normally be, against her tailbone, Bayloupe had already stuck a small tracer runecard, with which she could easily triangulate her position with similar runecards placed in the safehouse and several other places around the city, including under the license plate of the scooter.

When the car stopped, Bayloupe waited only for the door to be opened before getting out on her own, nearly running down the musclehead who was meant to be dragging her out, forcing him to step back and away from her. She cocked her head, the bag flopping around, as if listening to the echoes of the space around her to determine its size or location. Instead, she was actually channeling mana into her Gjallerhorn, using an application of Thunder she would never have even suspected existed until her time in Academy City, talking with various electromasters of her acquaintance. Small sparks spat briefly, unnoticed, from the tips of the horns, making her hair prickle a bit, as she sent out an invisible pulse of mana that reacted with the bio-electricity of living things around her, informing her of their general size, shape and distance from her. Not quite the radar sense of some high level Electromasters, but definitely useful for covertly keeping track of possible threats.

The bio-electric radar also told her the basic health of those it detected, in that those with injuries or low vitality would have distorted or weak signal returns. Fortunately, though there was a slight disruption in the familiar signal coming from Accelerator's bio-signs, it wasn't anything life threatening. Her boyfriend was currently positioned to her front, about thirty feet away, next to several other bio-signs with robust signals. So apparently, he still hadn't managed to get free yet, somehow. She'd have to see about that.

Someone pulled the bag off her head, revealing the interior of a dockside warehouse of some sort. Lots of empty space, steal beam construction and interior bracing, sheet metal and concrete cinderblock walls, scattered stacks of boxes and crates and industrial detritus of various states of disrepair. Easily a dozen and a half thugs and goons and punks and muscleheads of various descriptions distributed throughout the area, most watching her, rather than watching their surroundings, clearly feeling safe from outside interruption here in their base. A cluster of four in the taped off area with plastic sheets around the chair Accelerator was tied to, along with a grinning Sharkey of course.

The enforcer was somewhat incongruously eating from a small carton of what looked like chocolate ice cream, with an emblem of a cat-girl-maid-thing on the side, that looked faintly familiar for some reason. Something from Academy City, perhaps, Bayloupe thought before focusing on more important details. Sharkey took one last big spoonful of the ice cream, before dropping the carton onto Accelerator's lap, upside down so that it spilled out in an oddly non-melting mess on the crotch of his jeans. "Hey there, babe, fancy seeing you here…" Sharkey called out to her in jocular tones as he wiped his lips with the back of one hand.

"Spare me." Bayloupe rolled her eyes in response, taking advantage of the movement to re-confirm the positions of the surrounding gang members, and their state of readiness. Which was near nil. Clearly the lack of professionalism didn't extend just to the doorman with the greedy hands. She noted the tiniest flinch in Accelerator when he heard the sound of her voice, but otherwise her boyfriend stayed still… though she could feel through her Horns the crackling of the electric impulses inside him, and knew that his calmness was only skin deep, if that much. _Yep. He's pissed all right._

"Now, now, none of that smart mouth shit from you." Sharkey was still grinning, but had an ugly light in his eyes. "Your boyfriend's face is already a little worse for wear, I'm sure you don't want me making him look even more like roadkill after you came all this way to save him."

"Save him?" Bayloupe forced herself to chortle in amusement, which clearly caught Sharkey off guard. "You misunderstand, Sharkey. He doesn't need me to save him. I told you that on the phone. Accelerator is so much stronger than me it's not even funny. I'm not here to save him, least of all from you. No, I came here to save YOU from him."

"Really. That's adorable. I knew you loved me, Bayloupe." Sharkey laughed along with her. "Isn't she cute, boys? Coming down here to make sure we're all ok, and her big, badass boyfriend doesn't hurt us." His amusement turned darker. "Maybe she's worried we'll bruise our fists beating on his crippled face, eh? Well, if we do get a boo-boo, are you gonna kiss it better for us, babe?"

"I know they're annoying." Bayloupe ignored Sharkey's banter, and spoke to Accelerator, much like he had once ignored some lowlifes in his own city who had surrounded her. "And I'm not asking you to let them go. Just… please try not to kill them, ok? Lots of bodies turning up is going to get all sorts of groups involved, and I don't want New Light getting dragged into it."

"Bitch, you don't talk to him, you talk to me!" Sharkey growled, stepping forward and picking up a pipe from the metal table, on which were laid a variety of similar tools, obviously meant to intimidate her, or Accelerator. Bayloupe didn't even grace them with a sniff of disdain. She had seen, and even experienced, real torture before. With real tools, including magical ones that made physical implements seem like child's toys.

"Fine. Then talk to me. What's the deal you want? What gets him out of that chair?" Bayloupe replied with a sign of long suffering.

"Here." Sharkey grabbed a rolled-up document from the table and tossed it to her. With her hands still bound, Bayloupe could not catch it, so it hit her on the chest and then fell to the floor. Which Sharkey and his boys seemed to think was funny. She waited out the chuckles and nudges. "Help her out, Jimmy." Sharkey ordered one of his men, the same one who had frisked her earlier. Bayloupe thought that meant they were going to cut her hands loose, but instead Jimmy just reached down to the document, carefully avoiding brushing up against her now that Sharkey was watching, and cracked the officious looking red wax seal on it, ruining it before Bayloupe could get a good look at the iconography unfortunately.

Jimmy unfurled what was revealed to be a scroll, rather than just a document, on high quality parchment paper that looked hand made. A tingle of wariness started in her Horns and began spreading throughout the rest of her body. A sensation which only grew stronger as her eyes darted across the densely packed lines of text… and some carefully hidden runes and symbolic phrases and emblems etched and seared into the scroll material itself. This was no ordinary document, this was a magical item.

"A Blood Oath…?" Bayloupe was shocked, and could not entirely hide it, as this was the last thing she'd been expecting to find in the possession of someone like Sharkey. "Where the hell did you get this!?" She demanded harshly, her eyes blazing as she read the provisions and restrictions and other minutiae contained within the Oath. "Who the FUCK made this for you!?"

"Dunno, the bosses gave it to me, said it was necessary to make sure you didn't fuck us later." Sharkey shrugged off her inquiry with a smarmy grin. "Aside from the ways we want you to anyway…" He added with a lascivious lick of his lips.

Bayloupe tuned out his lewd fantasies, her mind racing as she went from annoyance to hyper alertness regarding the situation. Sharkey and his boys, even the local mob as a whole, was no real threat to her or New Light in the scope of things. They could make business difficult, sure, but they were no danger to their lives or livelihood. Normally speaking. But this Blood Oath was different. It was written using ritual materials and charged with mana, and if the spell contained within the document was completed, by the signatory, her, pressing a bloody fingerprint onto the provided space and charging it with a bit of her own mana, then it could be troublesome to say the least!

At that point, if she did not follow both the spirit and the letter of the Blood Oath agreement, she would be completely open to magical retaliation from the one who had created the Blood Oath. Furthermore, her own magic would be almost impossible to use against the other signatories of the Blood Oath, to the point where even her Steel Glove would be more like a nerf bat than a weapon if she tried to fight them. Furthermore, as the acknowledged Cabal leader of New Light, her word was considered binding to the other members of the Cabal in situations like this, so the metaphysical restrictions would apply to them as well. Signing the Blood Oath was as good as selling herself, and all of New Light, into slavery, or indentured servitude at least, to the local mobsters!

 _Who could have given them this…_ Bayloupe thought with a deep frown. Blood Oaths were serious business in the magical community, generally only used between the leaders of Cabals solving serious disputes or making long term alliances. Only a few mages in the entire country had the knowledge to make the documents, and all of them were supposed to be under the thumb of either the government or the church. Needless to say, freelancing that sort of thing was a major crime. But someone, somewhere, had obviously done so. And that was a big deal… much as the Magic Side wasn't supposed to interfere with the Science Side, and vice versa… a polite fiction at best, but still… providing overt magical assistance of this level to mundane organizations, criminal or otherwise, was a violation of all sorts of rules and laws!

"I can't sign this…" Bayloupe said heavily, almost unable to tear her eyes away from the Blood Oath to look at the smirking Sharkey.

"You better sign it, bitch." Sharkey retorted, his voice no longer amused. "Cause that's the only way your boytoy is coming home in one piece." He moved back over to Accelerator, and ripped the bag from his head, revealing his bloodied face, with a broken nose and a bruise on one cheek, and a shiny tape gag across his mouth. Neither of which seemed to really bother Accelerator, or at least not enough to show through his smoldering rage. The force of his anger was so palpable that even Bayloupe took a wary step back, and Jimmy actually fumbled the Blood oath, allowing it to flutter to the ground at her feet. "I haven't even really started in on him yet, cause I like you Bayloupe, and I wanted to do things the easy way. But if you're gonna play hard to get…"

"This is not… this is completely different." Bayloupe shook her head sternly. "You don't even realize, Sharkey, how serious this is. I thought this was about a job, something your bosses wanted a good deal on, maybe some kind of quid pro quo arrangement. That was never going to happen, not like they wanted, but I could have been talked around to doing a small favor maybe, just to smooth things over. But this… a Blood Oath… you can't be fucking serious…"

"We're completely serious, babe." Sharkey shrugged at her. "Can't say as I see what the big deal is, but you clearly see something to freak out about, so that's good enough for me. Ain't no "independent operators" allowed in this town, Bayloupe. Just the way things are. Best you bow down and accept that. Even now, if you just accept your place, I can make sure things stay… comfortable for you. So, why don't you get down on your knees then, eh? Pick that nice document up with those pretty lips and hold it up for Jimmy. Got a bad back, Jimmy does, doesn't do good bending over a lot, so save him the trouble why don't ya? Probably best you get used to being on your knees anyway, amiright boys?"

"If it was just a matter of humiliating myself, that would be one thing. I've done that before to survive and prosper, or to protect my friends, and I'll do it again when I have to." Bayloupe said, mostly to Accelerator and herself, watching her boyfriend as a new, even more furious aspect entered his burning glare at what Sharkey was saying. Bayloupe fixed Accelerator with her own gaze. "Forget what I said earlier. We need to nip this thing in the bud right here and now. I'll just have to deal with any fallout."

"Babe, I'm getting sick and fucking tired of you speaking past me to this wimp." Sharkey glowered, as he grabbed Accelerator's hair with one hand, yanking his head to the side, baring his neck as Sharkey drew back his hand to ready a punch. "Clearly you don't understand your place yet. So, I tell you what. To help you learn, I'm going to start beating the piss out of your boyfriend. When you're feeling properly cooperative, give me a nice loud whimper with that paper in your mouth while you're on your knees. Nice and loud, so I can hear you over this fucker's screams!"

Bayloupe did not even bother replying to that. Instead she did two different things simultaneously. One was tensing her arms and tearing apart the plastic ties on her wrists like they were made of wet noodles. The other was sending that small telekinetic pulse that she had used to get Accelerator's attention in the airport crowd. The magical equivalent of a spitball. Barely any force at all. Like a fingertip tapping you. But even a fingertip could be enough, when all you had to do was press a certain sensitive electrode switch…

The reaction was instantaneous. Metal snapped. Wood sheared. Air howled. The chair underneath Accelerator literally exploded as if it had been set atop a large roadside bomb, turning into shrapnel which shredded the four thugs standing in pairs to either side of the taped-up area. Jagged splinters piercing through flesh and meat and bone. Through eyes. Throats. Chests. Striking with the force of sledgehammers, debris accelerated to supersonic speeds in a fraction of a second! Though not a single bit of it went towards Sharkey or Bayloupe.

Blood sprayed. Men screamed, shrieked, cried like frightened babies. Bodies hit the floor like sacks of meat. There was another explosion, the ground under Accelerator's feet cracking, fragmenting, shattering upwards like it was hit from below by God's own jackhammer. A visible ripple raced through the solid concrete floor, knocking men from their feet, only for their legs and backs to be shredded and shotgunned with hundreds of fragments of concrete!

Gale force winds howled, lashing out like giant fists, pummeling into two men behind Accelerator, throwing them backwards, off their feet, through the air like cheap plastic toys, into boxes, wood splinters scattering in all directions. Ragdolls, wreathed in red mist, spinning through the air until they struck sheet metal with a sound like a melon dropping off a roof, before the sheet metal itself was torn, ripped, blasted asunder, punching ragged holes all the way through.

By this point Bayloupe was moving herself, using one hand to grab Jimmy by the back of the neck and pushing his face downwards, forcing him to bow, bad back or not, as she brought one knee up to meet him in the face. Cartilage snapped and crunched, and a scream was gargled through a mask of blood, and Jimmy was no longer a threat. Bayloupe's other hand touched her waist and drew out her Steel glove into its normal form, filling her hand with a six foot long metal polearm with four blades on the tip, and a fifth blade in the "thumb" position sticking out perpendicular to the rest.

Using the haft of the Glove, Bayloupe smacked Jimmy in the kneecaps, possibly dislocating one from the way he crumpled, not that she cared one way or another. She stamped on his hands with vindication as she turned to confront the next threat, smirking almost bestially when she felt the small bones shatter and grind under her heels. He wouldn't be touching anyone with those for a long time, wanted or not. Her Horns were throbbing with her released anger, and she channeled that, along with her mana, into sending a cascade of sparks into the grip of her Glove.

Sweeping the polearm horizontally, like a lacrosse player making an underarm shot, Bayloupe hurled an arc of bluish electricity to her rear arc, blasting a trio of thugs from their feet, bodies spasming and smoking as a jolt stronger than several tasers at once seared into them. Concentrated, she could have reduced one of them to ashes, but when dealing with a group her power was more diffuse. Spinning the Glove like a bo staff artist across her wrists and palms, she stabbed the tip into the floor and ripped up a good chunk of it, the size of her own torso. The Glove could grab just about anything, and the strength enhancement allowed her to manipulate even heavy objects like they were a bag of feathers.

Another swing, this time more like a hockey player, and she skated the chunk of stone across the floor at knee height, smashing the lower legs of one of the thugs who looked like he might be getting smart and trying to escape. More screaming from the other side of the warehouse, mostly ragged, wet and sharply truncated, told her that Accelerator certainly did not need assistance. He was up to his usual tricks, she noticed. Propelling himself like a rocket, guiding himself with occasional touches with one foot or the other, and reaching out with one hand to just barely touch a hapless thug. Didn't matter where, the arm, the leg, the chest, the back or the head. The result was always the same.

Flesh tore. Bones snapped. Blood gushed. A scream of agony would resound, and then trail off into a gurgle. Arms were turned into floppy noodles of blood and meat. Ribcages were crushed inwards, ribs popping and crunching like they were being chewed by gigantic jaws. Skulls turned almost fully around on shoulders. Legs tried to move in opposite directions, like two people pulling on a wishbone until it broke.

A part of her twinged to see such slaughter of the helpless. None of the men could hurt Accelerator… they couldn't even touch him! Those that tried only sped up their own deaths, shattering their weapons and then their arms when they touched him, and then his hand would brush them, and the screams would become shrieks and then gargles! It wasn't fair, it was just the strong destroying the weak. And she was human enough to feel bad about it.

But not so much that it would hold her back. These men were threatening her and her family, her friends, with something worse than death in her opinion. Magically enforced servitude was a huge crime to say the least, though that didn't mean it didn't exist. But here, in England of all places? How could the mob think they would get away with something like that!? How DARE THEY attempt to enslave HER, and her people!? They might be weakened by the blame falling on them for their part in the coup, but this was beyond the pale… completely disproportionate! No magician with any sense of pride would sign a Blood Oath under these conditions! And to attempt to force them, that was definitely a situation where deadly force was authorized!

Bayloupe swung the Glove around and plunged the blades through the throat of a man attempting to run up on her with an iron chain swinging in his hands. The Steel Glove was after all, aside from all its magical properties, still an actual polearm, and the blade-fingers were razor sharp. She tore out his throat, almost decapitating him, and then seized the ragged edge of neck, lifting his body and tossing the bloody corpse into another man who was approaching her from the side, knife in hand, knocking him off his feet. She pounced forward, Glove spinning over her head, and then brought it down, slamming into and through the back of the corpse, and then on into the chest of the man trapped beneath! Gore aspirated from a dying throat as lungs and stomach were pierced through, but she was already moving on.

And then, with almost shocking suddenness, the massacre ended, the sounds of screams and gargles and men dying in pain dissipating in the cold offshore breeze now flowing into the warehouse through a dozen ragged edged holes punched in the walls. Bloodstains spattered the floor and some of the walls, and in one case, the ceiling, of the building. Some surrounded bodies in modern art frescos of gore. Some WERE bodies, reduced down to a near slurry by the force of the impacts that destroyed them. The stench of a battlefield, blood and fear and ruptured bowels, warred with the seaweed and salt and fish smells coming from the sea breeze.

Sharkey still stood, stunned to immobility by the shocking violence that had erupted all around him without warning, a whirlwind minute or two of absolute slaughter that had painted his back and right side with a fine mist of blood squeezed from his subordinates. Sharkey had hurt a lot of people in his life… but he'd never killed anyone. And now his home base had been turned into a mass grave, with him the only survivor. "W-what…?" He stuttered, his brain completely short circuited by the inexplicable massacre of all his friends and minions. And then, a pale hand, completely gore free despite all the destruction it had caused, touched him on his shoulder.

"You punch like a bitch." Accelerator commented in a low growl, working his jaw as he remembered some far more effective punches he'd taken from other people in the past. And those when he wasn't tied to a chair as a punching bag too. Which admittedly was a new experience for him, and not one he was eager to repeat.

"Y-you're… a m-monster…" Sharkey's voice quavered, the mob-shark becoming a mob-minnow when confronted with those who had truly lived the darkness of humanity in its various aspects.

"No, he isn't." Bayloupe refuted, before Accelerator could respond, as she stepped forward, Steel Glove held off to one side of her. "Not anymore." She flashed a hard-edged smile at her boyfriend, whose was a stone mask of dried blood and barely contained rage still. She reached down and picked up the Blood Oath, carefully rolling it up and weighing it in her free hand. Such a dangerous thing, for just a slip of magically imbued paper. "Let him go, Accelerator." Bayloupe told her boyfriend, her voice soft but her eyes hard. After a few moments of silent communication between them, Accelerator's unblemished hand loosened its grip and he stepped back again.

"Oh… oh God… oh… thank you!" Sharkey gushed, tears in his eyes as a reek of ammonia filled the air around him, a further dark stain spreading on his legs and crotch from his sheer relief at the reprieve from death. "Thank you, Baylouurrrrkk!" Or not, as it turned out, as Bayloupe spun in place in a flurry of skirts and silver hair, and brought the Steel Glove around and forward, and punched the finger-blades into Sharkey's chest. Reddened steel points punctured the back of Sharkey's jacket from inside, a fresh red stain welling up around the impaling weapon. "But… w-why… j-just… a… j-job…"

"Until your bosses chose to make it personal by giving you a Blood Oath to bind me and my family with." Bayloupe snarled, baring her teeth in barely restrained fury, her Dragon's Horns feeling like they were glowing with inner heat on her head. She pulled the Steel Glove back, ripping out most of Sharkey's chest cavity in the process, spilling his life on the plastic sheeted floor. "I'm sorry you got dragged into my problems." Bayloupe said with a heavy sigh, raising her eyes to meet Accelerator's gaze, a small, dark part of her shivering with relief at the lack of judgement in his eyes. She'd just murdered Sharkey by any reasonable definition after all. He probably deserved it, and she had to send the message to his bosses about the consequences of their foolhardy action, but still, it was a murder.

"Tch." Accelerator grimaced, touching a hand to his face, gently probing his broken nose as he picked up his cane from where it was laid on the floor, unclicking his collar and returning himself to the realm of mortals. His face contorted a bit, as he struggled with himself over what he wanted to say as a reply. Finally, he just rolled his crimson eyes. "Don't be." He said, pausing a moment before going on, as if forcing himself to spit it out. "If someone attacks you, then that's my problem too." He added, more quietly, earning him a smile from Bayloupe at the expressed sentiment, even if it wasn't in the normal way.

"Besides, after he ambushed me in a moment of… of contemplation… he fucking had it coming." Accelerator scowled heavily.

"How DID that happen, by the way? I didn't think anyone could catch you off guard." Bayloupe asked, as she cleaned the blades of her Glove off on one of the bodies, and then returned it to belt form.

"None of your fucking business."

"Are you sure?" Bayloupe could tell there was definitely a story to be had there.

"Let's get the fuck out of here before the smell seeps into our clothes. Not to mention before any more show up. My face hurts… you better be able to fix it when we get home…" Accelerator growled at her, ignoring her question entirely. Which of course was enough of an answer itself.

Xxxx

Laid out flat on his back on Bayloupe's bed, his arms bent into a pillow for his head, even with Bayloupe's pillow right there, Accelerator appeared to be contentedly asleep. His blooded face had been cleaned up, washed with warm water and disinfectant soap, then the break straightened out with her fingers, before Bayloupe had used her healing spell to vastly speed up his bodies own natural healing process. His nose still ached a bit, and Bayloupe said he'd be a bit stuffy for a day or so as it finished healing his sinuses, but overall he was about as good as he ever got.

 _I need to learn that spell for myself._ Accelerator reminded himself of something he had thought of several times before, but had so far failed to act on. Of course, he was not asleep, despite his comfortable position. It was a couple hours after they had left the dockside area and made their way back to Bayloupe's house, which put the time in late evening, but he had too much to think about to be tired. Healing spells for one, as though it was rare for him to become injured in a fight or otherwise, having a means to take care of himself should that occur would be very useful. If nothing else it would keep the brat from getting worried about him needlessly again.

 _And it would be nice to be the one helping out when the people close to me get hurt sometimes._ He admitted, if only to himself. His power was vast, the most adaptable and flexible and overall useful power in all of Academy City. But while he could stop someone from bleeding out, he couldn't actually fix their wounds. Primarily his power was used to destroy things, things that annoyed him or that threatened his life and his selected circle of family. So, developing a new power that could restore things didn't so bad, all things considered. _Magic. Feh. I still don't fucking like it. But it would be stupid to not learn how to use it._

Of course, one reason he was thinking about magic was that he was surrounded by it at the moment. He had been a trifle shocked, inwardly, when Bayloupe had ushered him up the stairs and into her very own bedroom when they got home. His heart had only slowly its sudden thudding in his chest, despite himself, when she explained that she kept most of her magical materials and supplies, including the ones she used for healing, in her bedroom, as it was her personal space within the house. Which made sense of course. But a small, rebellious part of himself could not help but notice that he was still lying on the bed of his new girlfriend.

Her room was not like what he had expected it to be. It combined aspects of storage room, working space and personal quarters. The walls were lined with bookshelves, cabinets and old looking wooden chests that didn't seem to use metal anywhere in their construction, as if the wooden slats had been somehow bent into shape. The shelves were neatly organized, heavy with reference tomes both magical and a few mundane such as books on history, books on runes, books on mythology and quite a few on various magical theories. Bayloupe's own "spellbook"… a collection of her raw magical knowledge and personal spell theories, which she stressed was nothing at all like a Grimoire… was located on a lectern like desk in one corner of the room.

The floor around the lectern was made of a dark slate-like stone, kind of like the blackboard at his school, suitable for writing on with the various colored chalks the lectern held in its storage compartments, for the drawing of magical circles and runic arrangements. There were also soft clay and wax tablets and marking tools that could also be used for writing out spell arrangements, she had briefly explained. Pegs on the wall and loops of rawhide and leather dangling from the ceiling held spell components and magical charms, both complete and under construction, the purpose of which remained a mystery to him.

On the other side of the room, the floor was a plush carpet, dark blue with silvery speckles, with the queen size bed taking up most of the space along one wall, in the opposite corner of the room from the lectern. The sheets were creamy white, the coverlet was azure blue, and the pillows were crimson red… the same hues as the New Light uniform, probably not by accident. There was a umbrella holder made of dark stained wood with a stone base resting against one leg of the bed near the headboard, which held her Steel Glove in its polearm form, ready to be snatched up in a moment if needed. At the foot of the bed was a multi-level dresser-drawer arrangement that held her clothes.

Opposite the dresser, about six feet away, was a door leading to a small closet in the wall, which had inside it a hatch leading up to the attic and from there an escape route off the roof. This was common to all the rooms on the second story, as his own closet had one as well. In the same wall that the bed bordered was another door which led to the suite's bathroom, with the third door in the wall opposite that one being where the suite connected to the rest of the house. Lamps, both oil and electric, and also candles provided lighting, as well as a small coal brazier not currently in use, and what looked like incense burners as well.

Overall, her room was somewhat bigger than his own back in Academy City, about 140 percent the size, which made sense, as the New Light house was itself quite a bit larger than Yomikawa's apartment. There was a lot more space available in England, with its lower population density, especially here in the rural suburbs. The walls were dark grey, the ceiling pale white, and the sidings a dark brown color. There was a nice smell of herbs and faint incense in the air, along with the slightly floral scent he had come to associate with Bayloupe herself.

Accelerator did his best to keep his breathing slow and even, his heart rate as controlled as possible, as he tried to think about magic and other issues… and not the fact that after healing his nose and face, Bayloupe had stepped into her bathroom and was in the process of taking a shower to clean herself up after her day of work and the fracas down at the docks with the former Sharkey and his gang. His girlfriend… and he was still chewing on that idea, even as he was not entirely unhappily resigned to it… was literally naked in the next room over, as she washed herself!

She had seemed agitated ever since they had gotten home. Or rather, she had not calmed down from the agitated state she'd been in during the "rescue" on the docks. Something they had already agreed never to speak of to anyone, for their own reasons. It was an oddity, for an otherwise mature girl like her. Even after the near brush with death in the fight against Cain, she had not been as out of sorts as she was right now. Irritable. Snappish. Almost like she was frustrated or in pain of some sort, though she had brushed off his admittedly lackluster attempt to ask what was wrong while she was healing his nose. He just wasn't good at showing concern for people.

The sudden cessation of the nearly subliminal vibration his finely attuned senses could perceive from the next room over put a sudden tension in his belly. That pleasant-unpleasant roiling sensation was back again, as he heard the showerhead turn off. Minutes trickled by like molasses, as he aped sleep while remaining on hyper-alertness. Finally, he heard the door to the bathroom open, and the padded footfall of a foot on the carpet, and unable to help himself, he cracked an eyelid. Just a fraction, barely perceptible, but enough to give him a small slice of vision.

Blurrily, he saw a pale shape wrapped in a dark blue towel approaching him, passing by the dresser without stopping. _Is… is she not going to grab new clothes…?_ Accelerator asked himself, torn between feeling surprise… and a sense of excitement as well. One might think him a bit desensitized to naked females, given the antics that went on in Yomikawa's apartment from time to time, especially when Estelle was around, and in the normal course of things he was. But this was not a normal situation, he was coming to realize.

He did his best to covertly watch Bayloupe as she rounded the end of the bed and began making her way up the side of the bed towards the headboard. Her movements were slow, but not hesitant, rather they felt composed or determined. Like she had decided upon her course of action already. What exactly that course of action was though, he could not say. But his nerves were tingling with an unexpected anticipation as his mind cogitated scenario after scenario for this kind of situation, and he felt a flush start to grow on his cheeks. _Damn it all, since when could a girl influence me this much… without even touching m…_

His inner grousing was cut off as Bayloupe, having stopped by the head of the bed, suddenly bent over, bracing one hand on the coverlet by his side as she leaned down… and before he could even realize what she was doing, her mouth was pressed to his! The positioning was a little awkward, as they were perpendicular to each other, but her lips, warm and soft and slightly damp, were pressed to his regardless, moist-hot air tickling his face as she exhaled, her tongue twitching as it slid between her lips and pressed against his. His body reacted entirely on its own, his own lips and teeth parting to allow her access, his tongue rising to meet hers inside his mouth, as his body went stiff all over, so suddenly it was like he had been jolted with electricity!

Accelerator's eyes flew open, crimson red staring in shock and surprise into Bayloupe's more lidded turquoise eyes, and he almost scowled as he saw the amusement twinkling within their limpid depths. She had known from the very beginning that he wasn't asleep, it seemed. But no matter how he tried to be irritated at her presumption, the sensation of her mouth on his, their lips pressing and rubbing, their tongues tangling and warring, drained away all his rancor. The kiss went on and on, until he started feeling short of breath, and his eyelids had lidded halfway down as well, his nostrils flaring as he tried to drag in enough air to keep the contact going indefinitely.

But all things had an ending, even brain-meltingly hot kisses from Bayloupe, and slowly she lifted her head a few fractions of an inch, a single glittering thread of saliva connecting her tongue to his lips before she tucked her tongue back into her own mouth. "Wh…" Accelerator attempted to ask her what she was doing, but as soon as he opened his mouth, Bayloupe had covered it with her own again, crushing her lips against his once more, even more fiercely than the first time, as she climbed onto the bed with him, straddling him like she had done on the couch that morning, but even more intimately with him on his back like this!

The second kiss lasted until she had settled into place atop him, her hands braced to either side of his shoulders, her knees clasped against his hips, calves against his outer thighs, pinning him in place. She hovered just above him, close enough that he could feel the heat from her body, but not quite resting on him. Nibbling his lower lip for a moment, Bayloupe pulled away again, giving Accelerator his first good look at her.

Her hair was still damp and wet from her shower, like wet steel more than its usual silvery hue, strands plastered to her forehead and the sides of her head messily, as well as against her Horns. Her pale skin was likewise damp with droplets that had condensed on her after entering the cool bedroom from the warm bathroom. He could see her shoulders and arms clearly, but from the top of her bust downwards, her body was hidden from view by the dark blue, thick and fluffy towel she was wearing. It covered her all the way down to the tops of her hips, riding upwards on her abdomen a bit as she leaned over him. In that position, her ass and crotch had to be exposed… but he didn't have the proper angle to see. He could see wide expanses of her thighs, and her knees and calves and feet to either side of him. But all the parts a boy, a man, most wanted to see, remained tantalizingly out of view for the time being.

The third kiss was lower, against his chin and jawline, somewhere Bayloupe had not kissed him before, the soft but confident press of her lips against his skin sending electric tingles through him. Accelerator unfolded his hands from behind his head, but was unsure where to place them, or what to do with them, his arms raised as if in a frozen cheer, hovering above Bayloupe's head and shoulders and back, just as her body hovered over his chest and legs. Her mouth kissed its way down his jawline, finding nerves there he had never even suspected existed, earning her a quiet growl of mingled frustration and pleasure from him.

Accelerator didn't like not being in complete control at all times after all. He hated being manipulated, toyed around with, or messed with. But right now, he had no idea what to do, what to say, what he even wanted, and that completely conceded the initiative to Bayloupe! The third kiss dug into the base of his threat, her tongue pressing against a hollow between his collarbones, making him flinch and his hands react on their own. One hand moved to the back of her head, his pale fingers tangling in her pale hair, feeling the warmth and dampness envelop his digits as he gripped her, probably somewhat roughly, but she didn't seem to mind!

His other hand had moved down towards her shoulder and back, but found its path interrupted by the vacuum-tube horns on the right side of her head. He settled his fingers around that instead, surprised to find that despite their retro-metallic appearance, they were warm, even hot, and slightly yielding, more like keratin or bone than metal. There was a pulsing coming from them, or through them as well, and it took him only a moment to identify its frequency and realize that it was Bayloupe's pulse, her heartbeat! And it was quite accelerated, faster even than his own, perhaps because she wasn't subconsciously fighting against… whatever this was that they were doing.

"Mmmmmh…" Bayloupe made a noise he'd never heard before, but quite dearly wished to hear again the moment his grip tightened around her horn, a sort of combination gasp-moan-purr that he would not have believed physically possible had he not just heard it. Her breath grew even hotter and moister against the skin of his neck and collarbone, before she shocked him again by suddenly burrowing her face even closer to him and sank her teeth into the juncture of his neck and shoulder! The sudden flare of pain vanished quickly… she hadn't broken his skin, though she had definitely left a mark, but even as she relaxed her jaw, her tongue was lathing and licking across the mark she had made, as if to soothe it.

Fascinated by this reaction, which had… rewarded?... him with his first ever hickey, or so he assumed it was, Accelerator slid his hand up and down the horns in his grasp, his sensitive fingers scouting out every nook and cranny, feeling the odd, life-like texture once more. It was definitely like ivory or bone, rather than the brass or copper or steel its outward appearance suggested. And it was… connected to the side of her head, almost fused to the skin there, and deeper than that… he had thought they might be like headphones of a sort, but no, they were a PART of her. Kind of like his collar and electrodes were now part of him… but even moreso…

"Mmmmmnnnhh…" Bayloupe again gasp-moaned at his exploration of her Horn, lifting her head from his neck to give him a look that was half predatory and half pleased, a cold fire burning in the depths of her eyes. "Careful now. You'll get yourself in trouble if you keep that up." She told him, warned him, her voice smokey and low and intense.

"I think… I can handle myself… just fine…" Accelerator replied, putting as much of a confident smirk on his face as he could. That smirk faded a bit as Bayloupe matched his expression with a much more natural grin of her own, the kind of grin that told any sane man that he was indeed in trouble, if perhaps of a type he might not regret afterwards.

"But you're not… handling yourself…" Bayloupe said teasingly, as she pushed her face down against the other side of his neck, kissing and nibbling and licking with her tongue. Tasting his skin, stimulating his nerves, touching him like no one ever had, like nothing he'd ever imagined, and despite himself, Accelerator felt his breath grow short, his head falling back onto the pillow as his hands tightened on Bayloupe's hair and Horn, not to tease her, but simply to hang on and hold her close against him!

"It's me doing the handling tonight…" Bayloupe pressed another kiss to his lips to silence his retort, and while he was still dazed from that, she twisted her head to the side and shook off his grip on her hair and Horn. She then scooted backwards, rubbing her forehead against his chest and stomach as she slid down his body, until her knees were straddling his ankles instead of his hips. Her left Horn nearly caught on the fabric of his shirt and would have ripped it if it had, but that was neither here nor there.

Accelerator felt her hands on him for the first time since she'd joined him on the bed, touching his waist and sides, rubbing, stroking, probing. He wasn't sure what she was trying to accomplish at first, until he felt his shirt being pushed up to expose his pasty, undefined stomach. Bayloupe paid no heed to his relative lack of musculature, pressing her face against his bared skin, not kissing but simply rubbing skin to skin. Her cheeks and nose against his belly as if she was inhaling him. A twist of her head brought her right Horn, the one he had grabbed, poking lightly against his stomach, reconfirming its texture and its heat and the pulse of her body.

He had heard of people talking about out-of-body experiences before, as many Ability Users experienced them when first starting the Ability Enhancement Program in Academy City. A sensation of the body going slightly numb while your perception lifted up and looked down at yourself from above. Some Clairvoyants reportedly could even move this out-of-body sensor around as part of their power use, but that had nothing to do with his power. Nonetheless, Accelerator felt like he kinda knew what they were talking about now, his body lying limp on the bed while he looked at the top of Bayloupe's head and shoulders as she… nuzzled him?

Sparks jolted his nervous system once more, or so it felt, as her hands moved down his sides, fingertips brushing and almost tickling his skin there, before they moved to the waistband of his pants. His breathing completely caught for a moment, his eyes widening as Bayloupe began unbuttoning his pants! Her fingers were agile and knowledgeable, and a distant part of his mind remembered that she wasn't inexperienced with this like he was, but the rest of him hardly cared, as he half rose upright, bracing himself on his forearms as he stared down at the back of her head, his perceptions returning to his body in a burning rush.

"What the fuck are you doing!?" He demanded of her, his heart now racing just as fast as hers, a flush covering his cheeks as he looked down at the back of her head and shoulders more closely. Bayloupe did not immediately reply, her head dipping further down from where she had been nuzzling his stomach, and Accelerator flinched again, more strongly this time, his feet and legs twitching as he felt her hot breath against his upper groin, and her mouth against the front of his pants. Her teeth closed around his zipper, and he heard the plastic teeth begin to unlock as she took it down to its stop.

"Hey, I'm talking to you, I'm… nnnngghhh?!" Accelerator lost his train of thought as Bayloupe's hand dipping inside his pants and closed around his manhood, which was by this point pretty stiff and aroused, straining against the inside of his boxers. The touch, midway between gentle and rough, drove the air from his lungs as surely as the fucking Hero's fist to his gut once had… though in a much less painful manner overall!

He was gathering himself to offer another protest, or perhaps demand for explanation, when Bayloupe answered his confusion and trepidation in a different manner. His boxers were expertly shifted around to expose the front flap, and from there cool air and a very warm, slightly slippery hand, touched his erect cock. "FUCK!" He swore loudly, his chest feeling like it had been punched breathless again, as he threw back his head and stared at the ceiling. "Are you fucking… OH FUCK!" He swore again as Bayloupe opened her mouth and took his tip between her lips like it was the most natural thing in the world!

Sensation exploded through him, from his cock to his groin to his stomach to his heart, his nervous system feeling like it was burning out and being re-written anew, before it finally reached his brain, like the fuse of a bomb burning down. At that moment, even if he'd had his collar flipped on, Accelerator doubted he'd have been able to add one plus one, much less do any vector calculations! Her mouth was so warm, and wet, her lips tightening around his shaft as her tongue began to flick and caress against his tip. Tracing small circles around him, licking under the edge of his glans, and across the cleft at the top. Tasting him! Sucking him!

Pain in his hands informed him that he'd clenched his fingers on the bedsheets hard enough to dig his nails into his own palms, almost drawing blood, as Bayloupe sucked, with apparent contentment, on the top of his dick! Waves of pleasurable sensation washed through him, like radiation escaping a reactor, contaminating every cell they passed through and leaving them changed in the process… but not in a bad way! Slowly, achingly slowly, Bayloupe started pushing her head further down on his cock, taking him deeper, her cheeks puffing out as she worked his tip into one pouch and then the other, while her tongue crept down his shaft, and her nose blew a steady stream of hot, excited breaths against his scrotum and crotch!

"SHIT! FUCK!" Accelerator knew no other way to express his feelings than with his cursing, though there was no anger in his tone, only wonder, only desire. He leaned forward into a more sitting position, and moved his hands to Bayloupe's head again. This time he seized her by both horns, one per hand, the heat radiating from them almost enough to be uncomfortable against his palms, the pulsing of her heartbeat like a drumbeat against his fingers. From this position he could see the pale curves of her bare ass, uncovered by the way her towel was riding up, but while normally fascinating, such a sight took second place to focusing on what her head was doing!

Now she was moving her head up and down his dick, literally sucking him, blowing him as her tongue worked against the underside of his shaft and tip. With skill, with fervor, even with enjoyment, at least if the state of her heartbeat and the heat in her Horns was any indication. That, perhaps even more than the physical sensations themselves, stopped Accelerator's thoughts dead short. Bayloupe was sucking his cock… but not out of obligation, not as compensation or a plea for forgiveness or any of that shit… she was sucking his cock because she LIKED IT! Because she WANTED TO, and for no other reason! Because she liked HIM enough to do this with him, unasked for, unprompted… by her own will!

"NNNNGGGHHH!?" Accelerator felt an unfamiliar sensation erupt inside his crotch, a wave of heat and pleasure that burned through him in an instant, his fingers clenching around Bayloupe's Horns, drawing a muffled gasp from her as his toes twitched inside his shoes! He threw back his head, his eyes wide but unseeing as a whiteness filled his head and drowned out all his thoughts for a few seconds. When the whiteness faded, color returned to his vision and thoughts to his head, but he felt completely drained, like he did after actually trying to run the entire time in gym class. Sweat broke out on his skin as his muscles ached, strength leaving his back and his hands as he fell back supine on Bayloupe's bed, his fingers slipping off her pulsing hot Horns. Her mouth likewise left his cock, eliciting a faint groan of displeasure from him at the lack of warmth and wetness, even though he was already softening and the sensation of drained energy was especially strong in his crotch. It was simultaneously a relief and a disappointment.

Bayloupe made a swallowing sound, but Accelerator was hardly even paying attention at that point, suddenly finding it a struggle to keep his eyes open for real. He had heard, of course, that men could fall asleep after experiencing an orgasm, especially if they were already tired, but that was supposed to be after a long and raucous bout of sex, according to what his friends at school liked to debate. There was nothing in those discussions he remembered about a guy falling asleep just after a blowjob… that was just supposed to be the start of the fun! He hadn't even seen her naked yet!

But his body was insistent, perhaps because it had been something of a long day for him, and even though healing magics could restore the body, they also drew upon its natural reserves to do so. The last time Bayloupe had healed some of his injuries, he'd also passed out relatively soon afterwards, he remembered. Though all things considered, he liked this way better than that one. An unfamiliar sensation on his face told him that he was smiling, broadly grinning even.

He felt Bayloupe move up to lie by his side, embracing him from the side as she laid her head on the pillow above his, his head tucked against her neck and under her chin. _Damn it, I told her I wasn't a cuddler…_ He groused inside his head, but lacked both the energy and the will to push her away. She was warm. And soft. And strong. And this… wasn't so bad after all…


	5. A Day in the Life

**Author Note:**

 **Seems like people like the conclusion to the Sharkey prologue arc, and the first smut scene, so far. A guy might hope for reviews longer than a single sentence to cover the content of 14k words, but hey, that's just a writer being greedy, right? And by the time I post this, hopefully there will already be more and longer reviews from others.**

 **As I said before, the "prologue" is now over and we're entering the first major plot arc. Probably of two major arcs in total… I only have seven days of Accelerator's vacation to work with here, and there's a limit to how much serious plot I can pack into that and still maintain proper pacing for slice of life and smut scenes, which are more than half the point of the story. Time to get some more magic involved though.**

 **I apologize in advance if my magical theorizing later in this chapter is not canonical. I don't particularly understand the magic system of canon, so I'm just taking my best stabs at it.**

 **As a procedural note, I'll start putting bold headers at the start of every new scene, denoting the day and approximate time and location, for ease of my own bookkeeping and to aid reader orientation. For the purposes of prior chapters, everything so far has occurred on Sunday night (Chapter 1) and Monday (Chapter 2-4).**

 **But first, let's keep the steam on for a bit…**

Xxxx

 **Tuesday, Morning, New Light's house, Bayloupe's Bedroom**

 _Warm…_ Was Bayloupe's first, bleary thought as she slowly swam her way back to the surface of her consciousness the next morning. Bleariness didn't last long though, as a Cabal leader couldn't afford to have a muzzy head when waking up, there was always business she had to be on top of, and the time of day didn't matter. She might not be particularly sociable or talkative until she had her morning coffee or similar stimulant to fully wake herself up, but she did not suffer from a lack of cognitive function when first waking up.

So, she was not shocked to discover that she wasn't alone in her bed, lying atop the covers in a somewhat disordered towel and nothing else, her body pressed against Accelerator's side, his head tucked under her chin and her bare legs tangled up with his pant clad ones. Her turquoise eyes were aglow with her exultant sense of satisfaction as she clutched her still sleeping boyfriend just a slight bit tighter, indulging in the simple possessiveness of a girl for the boy she liked. Her Horns itched a little bit, but nothing like the throbbing, brain-melting heat she'd felt in them after getting home from the fracas at the docks the night before.

The Dragon's Horns enhanced her intellectual capabilities when it came to understanding and researching magic, but they also increased her intemperance. They didn't cause her to become angry on their own, or even make it easier for her to be angry. But when she DID become angry, the Horns made it harder to control, more likely to find violent or destructive outlet, and less likely to ebb with time. A threat to her territory, to her family and her loved ones, had pushed buttons in her that she had not had triggered for quite a while, and even killing Sharkey and all his men… hapless minions or not, they had been the immediate threat… had not calmed the burning throb in her head from the Horns influence!

She had several methods of purging the Intemperance from her when it was inconvenient, which including a magical ritual of purification, simple meditation, and a physical release of her body's tensions… aka, masturbation. Alas, the first method required expensive materials that she didn't want to waste on a non-emergency. The second was not as reliable and required a lot of time and complete solitude, which she wasn't in the mood for with her boyfriend around. And the last… well, Bayloupe might not have been a shy or easily shamed girl, but masturbating while in the same house as her boyfriend just felt weak and unworthy to her.

So, after a relatively long and only lukewarm shower, she had wrapped herself in a towel after drying off just enough not to drip on the floor, and resolved herself to her chosen plan. Masturbation might be unworthy of the situation, but that didn't mean she couldn't release those pleasure endorphins another way. Accelerator had been lying on her bed, pretending to be asleep after she healed him of his broken nose, but Bayloupe wasn't a neophyte… she knew full well that he wasn't about to just drift off in that position.

She hadn't asked for permission, she had barely even let him speak, as she mounted the bed, and then him, smothering him with kisses that ignited a fire in her belly and her brain, a fire that burned away all doubts and hesitation. It had been… so long… since she'd last felt this way about someone. Since she had last committed herself to the pleasure of another person of her own will, not out of necessity or for the promise of monetary compensation! The kisses dragged on, lips pressing, tongues tangling, as she tasted him… drank him in, filling him with desire and lust to match her own!

Bayloupe smirked as she remembered biting his throat when he grabbed her Horn and hair, her teeth digging into his skin just enough to bruise and leave her mark, right there a few inches below his electrode collar, where it would be clearly visible to others, given the fact that he hardly ever wore shirts with raised collars. The way he had gripped and explored her Horn after she did that made her shiver even now, just thinking about it. Goosebumps rose on the flesh of her belly and thighs and upper arms, that had nothing to do with the ambient temperature in her bedroom.

At that point, there had been no holding back for her. Her Horns, like all the Dragon part prosthetics she and the other members of New Light used, were a physical and spiritual part of her after all, and while sensation in them was generally dulled, sometimes they could become very sensitive indeed… such as when she was aroused. That was another reason why she didn't let just anyone handle them, not even her younger sisters in New Light. It wasn't quite the same as letting someone slip a hand inside her pants, but it was pretty close to that. Certainly, she never allowed paying clients to touch them or fondle them, that was grounds for immediate cancellation of that particular meeting.

Kissing her way down his body, Bayloupe had wanted to mount him properly, but with his nose healing like it was, and his rather weak constitution in general, she doubted he would have been in any shape to actually truly enjoy sex at that time. And Accelerator DESERVED to enjoy it, for his first time. And every time. But especially his first time. He'd had so much pain and anguish and loneliness in his life… even as dark and unpleasant as her own past was, at Least Bayloupe had had Floris, Lancis and even Lessar there with her through it… Accelerator had been alone for most of his time in Darkness.

But he wasn't alone anymore. Not with his family, including Last Order, Misaka Worst and Yomikawa, or with her, his girlfriend! So even if sex was off the table for reasons of stamina and endurance, that didn't mean she couldn't pleasure him! Learning how to use your mouth to pleasure a man was basic stuff for a girl hoping to sell her body for money, but using those skills on someone she liked and wanted to pleasure just for the sake of it, was something Bayloupe truly enjoyed and looked forward to. And Accelerator's reactions to her sudden envelopment of his cock with her mouth and tongue had been everything a girl could have hoped for! Shock, embarrassment, arousal, excitement, the normally reserved and distant boy had been completely lost in the moment as she fellated him good and slow and intensely. Imprinting the taste of his cock all over her tongue and the inside of her mouth!

 _He didn't last very long, but that was probably his first time, in so many ways…_ Bayloupe thought smugly to herself, her tongue darting rapidly across her lips as she recalled the final moment, when his virgin semen had exploded into her mouth in a hot rush! It was bitter, as semen was, but she was used to the taste of cum, and it being from a man she liked added a flavor to it that made it no chore at all to swallow. _Though it's almost too bad…_ the artificer inside Bayloupe lamented slightly.

After all, constructing magical tools and artifacts was one of New Light's main sources of power… the Steel Gloves and the Dragon prosthetics just being two examples of the magical items they had created for their own use, never mind what they made for others on contract. And constructing such things required the use of exotic and expensive and hard to obtain materials. Including things like blood, skin, hair or even other emissions from a variety of animals and magical creatures. _The virgin sperm of the most powerful ability user to ever live, bester of Saints, killer of the First Vampire… the symbolic power of that fluid would be completely off the charts…_

Which of course was one reason why she had swallowed it. Primarily because she enjoyed doing it for him, enjoyed his reaction, and the way the flush of pleasure at pleasing him made herself wet and hot. But also, because she didn't want to risk someone else somehow obtaining a sample of something so intimately linked to him, and so powerful. As a reagent in a spell, especially a curse, it would be a surefire way to break through any defenses he might have… as far as she knew, even his Vector manipulation wasn't necessarily effective against attacks from inside his own body or spirit, after all. But inside her stomach, it wouldn't be doing anyone any harm. And it had done him a lot of good!

 _We'll have to work on his stamina of course, but there's time… and potentially another solution I can think of as well, but I'll have to raise that idea with him in the proper time and place…_ Bayloupe's musing was cut off as she felt a stirring in her bedpartner, both in the shifting of his arms and head against her, and a different sort of stirring in the open front of his still unbuttoned and unzipped pants. _Morning wood huh? That's a good sign…_ Bayloupe's smug smirk grew. She hadn't cummed herself during the blowjob last night after all, even if she had felt pretty good. A familiar and welcome wet heat began to build inside her core again.

Bayloupe waited until Accelerator's crimson eyes blinked fully open and he shook off any remnants of sleepiness, as she wanted him fully awake and aware for what she had in mind. As soon as his gaze focused on her face and neck from only a few inches away, and she felt his hips shift a bit as he became aware of her bare inner thigh resting across his crotch and his stiffening cock, and the warm dampness of her crotch against the skin of his side where his shirt was still pulled up. That was when she pounced, dipping her head forward and capturing his lips with hers, her hand moving to the back of his head, tangling her fingers in his surprisingly silky white hair…

She was just about to part her lips and push forward with her tongue, knowing from repeated prior experience now that Accelerator was a big fan of tongue kissing, but the moment her lips parted, she was a little taken aback to find that it was HIS tongue that darted into her mouth instead! A fierce light was growing in his crimson eyes, and Bayloupe shivered despite herself when she felt Accelerator smirk while kissing her, that sardonic, overly self-confident, even arrogant grin he had when he was about to show someone just how outclassed they really were. He pressed closer to her, one hand reaching up to grab her left side Horn, but Bayloupe wasn't about to yield to him just because he was feeling frisky in the morning, so she tightened her grip in his hair, and then trailed her other hand down across his chest, and rubbed her thigh harder against the stiffness in his pants.

"Mmmph…" Accelerator's low groan into her mouth was as sweet as a morning glazed donut to her current sensibilities. But rather than loll back and allow her to take charge of their intimacy like he had done last night, a competitive spark ignited in his dark, deadly eyes, and he lifted his hand away from her Horn slowly, almost dramatically. She thought he might undo her towel. Or maybe just slip his hand inside the top of it, to get a feel for her soft and full breasts. But that wasn't his goal… at least not at that moment…

"Click." The sound of his collar electrode switching from normal-mode to esper-mode was normally barely perceptible, but she was so closely entwined with him that it was like the sound of a gun cocking in her ear. But even more dangerous. Suddenly, all the control she'd fondly imagined she had and was gaining, was completely lost to her! In a whirl, Bayloupe found herself completely overpowered, her own strength turned against her as Accelerator rolled over on top of her, easily pinning her down to the bed as he straddled her hips, much like she had initially done to him the night before. He was smaller and slighter than her, but with his power returned, he was as immovable as a fifty-ton block of stone.

"You've been getting… ahead of yourself, I think…" Accelerator growled, low and intense and tinged with darkness, as he broke their kiss but did not back away far. His lips almost brushing her nose and cheek with each word he whispered. "Teasing me…" He dipped his head under her chin and pressed a hot, hard kiss to her neckline, almost eliciting a moan from her. "Tantalizing me…" He moved his mouth down to the base of her throat, and bit down harder, just like she had done to him the night before, precisely controlling his vectors, so he inflicted a slightly larger and more prominent hickey-bruise than she had.

"Nnnnmmmrrr…" This time Bayloupe could not hold back her own growling moan of appreciation. She was a grown girl after all, and not a shrinking violet or delicate flower. She didn't mind a little roughness from a lover, as long as it didn't stray into actual infliction of pain. And even then, if it was agreed upon beforehand…

"You need to learn…" Accelerator's grin stretched wider, almost baring his teeth like a predator closing in on a juicy morsel. And his erection was growing to match, tenting out the visible front of his boxers. But Bayloupe didn't have long to admire that, as he touched a single fingertip to her cheek, and she found her head twisting to the side, firmly and inexorably, though not painfully, as he manipulated one of her vectors. Exposing the right side of her neck and face and head, trapping her that way on the pillow with the pressure of his single fingertip.

"I am the one-way road… you don't get to just pass me whenever you want…" He hissed in her ear, the raw possessiveness in his tone make her belly shudder happily, even before he extended his tongue and licked her. Not her ear, but above and behind it. Her Horn. He licked her Horn, trailing his tongue along it like he had his fingers the night before. Tasting her, exploring her… stimulating her, more powerfully than he probably even knew!

 _OHFUCKYES!_ Bayloupe screamed inside her head, gritting her teeth to reduce her scream of pleasure to a mere whimper, as her fingers clutched at her bedsheets, her heels sliding against the coverlet as her body arched upwards hard. Not really an orgasm per se, but very closely related! Of course, even the heaving of her trained and toned body could not shift Accelerator when he did not want to move, so she mostly just ended up grinding against his hips while shaking from head to toes.

"So that's what that feels like." Accelerator commented, under his breath, as if speaking to himself. Bayloupe looked at him out of the corner of her right eye, still unable to move her head with his finger on her cheek manipulating her vectors. She licked her lips, moistening them, as she panted for breath from the near-climax, a flush growing on her cheeks as her Horns started to throb with the beat of her pulse. Heating up just like her belly and crotch was, with a primal sort of need. She was just about to tell him to get on with it, when he did…

Moving his other hand to just above the top of her towel, right where the top of her cleavage began, Accelerator pressed another single finger to her skin. His fingertip was soft, not calloused or particularly masculine, but the sheer intensity of the intent behind his every motion more than made up for the relative lack of visible masculinity. And then, Bayloupe had no time for thinking, as, completely without warning, a burst of pleasure almost identical to what she had felt when Accelerator tongued her Horn ripped through her body! Completely out of nowhere, near-orgasmic pleasure crashed through her!

"Aaaahhhhhnnn!?" She could not contain a strangulated yelp of bliss, her eyes rolling in their sockets as her body bucked and arched again, still trapped beneath Accelerator's legs. _WHAT THE FUCK IS HE DOING TO ME!? HOW!? HE'S BARELY TOUCHING ME, SO HOW!? OH GOD IT FEELS SO… OH GOD YES!_

"One thing a lot of people never realize about my power is that I can control the vectors of anything. Not just physical matter, but also energy, and even magic bullshit these days." Accelerator grinned at her, as he sent another inexplicable pulse of body shaking pleasure through her, his finger slipping down to dent the top of the towel wrapped over her chest, slowly tugging it downward. He compounded this burst of pleasure by leaning in and gently sucking on the very tip of her right Horn for just a moment.

"NNNNGGHG!?" Bayloupe was beyond articulation or coherence at this point, powerless in the face of the crashing waves of pleasure rebounding through her body. She was shaking hard all over, like she was suffering hypothermia, wetness staining her crotch and spreading in shiny trails down her inner thighs, as her nipples fully hardened and became almost visible through the material of the towel.

"Energy includes the usual suspects. Heat, cold, light… and of course all the various flavors of electricity." Accelerator sneer-smirked at his writhing and moaning and bucking and twitching girlfriend, pinned to the bed by his pelvis straddling her hips, and his two fingertips on her cheek and chest. "Even a certain flavor of electricity known as bioelectricity. Which is what your nervous system conducts when your body feels tactile sensations."

 _You can't be fucking SERIOUS!?_ Bayloupe might be unable to talk at the moment, but her brain was still working, somewhat. Enough to comprehend what her boyfriend was getting at. Anything he touched, he had near complete dominion over. Including, obviously, the bioelectricity in her nervous system. Just from touching her cheek, and feeling the flow of those vectors through her body when he licked her Horn, he'd memorized the vector pattern… and could force her bio-electric vectors to form that pattern again, any time he wanted, just by touching her and willing it! _He… he can make me cum… whenever he wants… for no effort at all… that's…_ "AAAAHHHNNN!" Bayloupe could not restrain a full-throated moan as he sent the cum-sation pattern into her again, this time while nibbling the tip of her Horn while sucking on it! Her hips bucked madly, her vagina clenching and dripping, an almost painful ache of need growing in her core. She looked at him desperately, tossing aside her confident pride for the moment, the urgency of the immediate moment drowning out everything else.

"That's a much better look now, I think." Accelerator gloated smugly, as he released her cheek from his fingertip, allowing Bayloupe control over her head again. "Of course, there's something to be said for manipulating physical vectors as well." He added, with almost devilish casualness, as his remaining finger plucked at the top of the towel, and the piece of cloth suddenly unraveled from around Bayloupe, nearly fast enough to give her a rug burn over most of her torso. She was now completely revealed to him, for the first time ever…

Bayloupe took some measure of returned pride and dignity when she saw Accelerator freeze, stunned as he beheld her nakedness, not to mention the obvious wetness of her sex and the arousal evident in her breasts. She was panting for breath, her face red and flushed, her chest heaving up and down, making her full breasts jiggle lightly, and she knew the effect her body could have on men even when she was fully clothed. Nude and horny and flushed, the effect was considerably magnified.

She smirk-sneered at him in turn, deliberately arching her back to thrust her breasts up front and center in his field of view, wiggling up the bed a bit so she could get out from underneath his straddle. At least enough for her to spread her thighs apart, fully exposing her dripping vagina. A carefully tended triangle of soft, short silvery hairs resting atop her crotch and pointing down towards her slit proved that silver was indeed her natural hair color, even at her age. Bayloupe's lazy, confident grin only grew as she reached down with one hand, tenting her palm above her mons as she used two fingers to spread her pussy lips apart, showcasing the soaked wet, pink and glistening interior of her sex. "Don't make me beg…" She growled at him hungrily.

"One day I will…" Accelerator half snarled as he shook himself free of his state of entranced fascination, his eyes darting around every part of her naked body, engraving the sight onto his memories in triplicate. He suddenly found himself to be shaking, his clothes fluttering as his Vector calculations threatened to go out of control, his anticipation and arousal disrupting him in ways both annoying and pleasurable. He shifted position, getting between her spread thighs as he hurriedly pushed down his boxers and pants to bunch around his knees. He thought about taking off his shirt, but he was already feeling a trifle exposed, worried beyond all logic that Bayloupe would be turned off by his pasty, unmanly build, even at this critical moment.

Bayloupe could read the emotions flickering across his face easily enough, and she softened her smirk into a regular smile, feeling a fluttering in her chest as her heart melted just a little bit more seeing his anxiety and awkwardness, his vulnerability in this intimate moment. "Hurry…" She encouraged him, lifting her knees and spreading her thighs even further, her fingers keeping herself V'd open invitingly. Her other hand curled around the side of her head, her fingers gripping her right Horn, stroking and petting it like she had handled his cock the night before. "I want YOU…" She said huskily. "In ME… please…"

That proved to be more than any amount of performance anxiety or body-image worries could hope to hold back, and with an almost bestial growl, Accelerator thrust himself onto her. Into her. His aim was impeccable, even as a virgin, he had no trouble finding the right angle of entry, perhaps not surprising with his Vectors in full force. Her being spread and V'd open probably helped too. His cock was not huge, but neither was it tiny… and he still had plenty of room to grow and mature too. What was more important was that he was hot, and hard, and HIM!

"MMMYESSS!" Bayloupe crowed triumphantly, her body shaking with the force of his initial penetration, his hips slamming against her pelvis with almost painful force, his blatant need and desire to prove himself worthy of this most human intimacy giving him strength and ferocity disproportionate to his experience and build! She lifted her hand from her crotch and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, almost ripping a tear in it as she dragged him down onto her, their lips crashing together as he started to pump his hips almost frantically into her.

 _Its been… so long… oh yes, I… needed this… so much…_ Bayloupe groaned exultantly inside her head, as the heat of their bodies mingling flushed through her. She moved her legs around, wrapping them tightly around Accelerator's waist, pulling him closer, locking him in place inside her! Trying to hold him still so she could start grinding her hips against him with him fully inside her… there was more than simple thrusting to pleasuring a vagina, hers included, after all. For full pleasure, she would want to stimulate her clit as well, rubbing or pressing and pinching lightly, but she forbore that for the time being. She didn't want to make him think he was unable to properly pleasure her with his cock by touching herself at the same time, even though that wasn't at all what she would mean… but men, especially virgins, could be touchy about their prowess. And Accelerator probably very much so.

But to her surprise, Accelerator wasn't having much of her attempts to seize back control of their intimacy. His body resisted her legs, her calves and heels finding little purchase against his skin, his reflection keeping her slightly away. Close enough to feel him, but not enough to impede him as he pumped his hips, driving in and out of her, until her creamy juices were spattered and smeared all over his crotch and cock. She couldn't feel his leg muscles tensing or moving much, and realized he was manipulating his own Vectors to move his body with minimal expenditure of energy. He was really being serious about trying to pleasure her, even taking into account his own lack of physical stamina…

 _Well, if he wants to make me cum that bad, who am I to refuse?_ Bayloupe thought happily, bearing down with her pelvic floor muscles, tightening her pussy around his cock, squeezing him like a glove! At the same time, she tightened her grip around her own Horn, doing her best to lose herself in the moment. Feeling his hot, rapid breathing against her neck and cheek. Hearing his small grunts of concentration and effort as he no doubt continually calculated algorithms that would stump her for hours, even in the midst of literally fucking her! Pushing her body against his, melding them together, accepting him in the most primal way, taking him into her, and wrapping herself around him.

"Do it… I want you… I want you…" Bayloupe whispered in his ear, kissing the side of his cheek as she held him close with her arms and legs. Reassuring him with both words and actions, as she felt him start to tense and throb inside her. With one final convulsive tightening of her pussy, and a wordless, drawn out moan of pleasure, Bayloupe pushed him past his point of no return! Accelerator groaned just like her, an animalistic vibration of release and relief in his chest and throat as he spent himself into her vagina! The hot, sticky, wet sensation of his cum splurting inside her gave Bayloupe the impetus she needed to peak as well, and she allowed it to happen, even though she could have held on for more if she wished. But Accelerated needed to feel her pleasure right then, even more than she did, so she gave it to him. She would always give it to him…

"Click." The sound of the electrode switch was much quieter this time, like the latch falling on the other side of a closed door. Strength and poise and ferocity seemed to drain out of Accelerator, along with the remnants of his creampie, as he half collapsed down on top of her. Spent, but smirking like a man who just won the lottery. His head resting on her breast, she could feel him grinning, and smiled herself. There was a temptation to make a smart comment, but she held back from that.

This moment was just fine as it was, so she wrapped him up tight and held him until they both had gotten their breath back. The darkness of their pasts, had never seemed further away…

Xxxx

 **Tuesday, a little later in the morning, New Light's house, Common room**

"Oh look, our glorious leader has deigned to rise and get started on the day. Glory be." Floris's snark was the first thing to greet Bayloupe as she descended the stairs from the second story and entered the common room of the house. She managed to hide her surprise and did not stumble on the final step, but it was a near thing. Without her constant practice in presenting a calm and poised façade of a cool and collected beauty, she might have done something undignified. She had not known that Floris and Lancis had returned to the house already.

Giving her younger sister's comment all the response it deserved… a sniff of disdain and nothing more… Bayloupe took a moment to inspect her two juniors as they sat on the couch together. Both were wearing the New Light uniform, each with their own particular embellishments. The chief differences between them were Lancis wearing blue spats under her skirt, while Floris favored red, in addition to a red, white and blue jacket over her short-sleeved jersey shirt. And of course, Lancis's brown hair, swept back with her headband, and relatively more petite build compared to Floris's blond hair which was worn more loose and wild like Bayloupe's.

Floris was leaning forward a little, as usual whenever she sat down in something with a back, as her Dragon Wings could get cramped if she rested against them for too long. Lancis was fidgeting in place, her talon tipped fingers tapping and clicking lightly as she giggled softly now and then, as the process of refining her own mana through the Dragon's Claws gave her a ticklish sensation. Despite her fidgeting, she was much more relaxed seeming than Floris was, as Lancis had a naturally placid and calm nature, compared to Floris's more pushy and self-confident one.

Bayloupe herself was not yet in uniform, wearing instead a pair of greyish sweatpants and a simple, loose white T-shirt. She hadn't even bothered to put on socks or underwear yet, as she had been planning on taking the morning off to properly deal with everything that had happened on Monday night. After the wake-up sex with Accelerator, she had taken a nice, long and relaxing shower, to clean herself up and to help her wake up after the post-coitus relaxation. She had considered asking Accelerator to join her, despite the cramped quarters of her shower, in the interest of seeing if things might get frisky again, but one look at him lying on her bed had told her that his reserves were well drained after losing his virginity.

For that matter, after recovering from the heat of the moment, he had withdrawn a bit to chew over everything that they had done, as was his way when encountering something new, she had learned. Muttering about "checking in with the brat" and stuff like that, he had retreated to his own room to shower and change clothes and get ready to face the day. Bayloupe had given no protest, bearing in mind that there was no sense rushing their intimacy. It would only unnerve him if she acted clingy or insatiable at this point, when he was still coming to terms with himself as a sexual being, and especially with her as his partner.

He was still in his room when she finished her own shower and had gotten dressed, so she had decided to go down and make some coffee and breakfast for them both, and that was when she had discovered that they were no longer alone in the house. Of course, Lancis and Floris had every right to be there, as it was their home too, but all the same, Bayloupe could feel a prickle of irritation in her Horns at their presence at this particular moment. "How long have you two been here?" She asked, trying to sound casual.

"Not long. Maybe an hour?" Lancis replied with an easy shrug. She might almost have pulled it off, if Bayloupe didn't know her well enough to detect a slight nervous edge in her otherwise unconscious fidgeting, and the faint remnant of what might have been a blush on her face.

Floris was rather less discreet. "What, didn't you hear us come in, Bayloupe?" she asked, a challenging light in her eyes as she half-smirked at her older sister. And especially at the very visible bruise on the side of her neck. "Or were you… busy with something perhaps? Or someone?"

"That's none of your business." Bayloupe retorted, a hint of color appearing in her own cheeks despite herself. It was the wrong response, she knew that, rising to any form of teasing was just what her younger sisters, especially Lessar and Floris, wanted. But she couldn't always maintain perfect self-control. Especially on that topic.

"Mmhm." Floris grinned wider. "You know, when I was upstairs changing into my spare uniform, I happened to peek into Lessar's room. You know, just to be sure everything was shipshape in there and all, and it hadn't been destroyed or anything. Of course, I would never disturb our guest while he was sleeping… but guess what? There was no guest in there. The bed didn't even look like it had been slept in at all…"

"Go Bayloupe…" Lancis's comment was soft, almost a whisper, but the grin on her little sister's face was unmistakable, even as she continued her nervous fidgeting, the blush reappearing on her cheeks, her claws clicking together a bit more rapidly.

"Shut up, both of you. I don't wanna hear it." Bayloupe groused with a heavy sigh. "With Lessar still out of the country, I thought you two might show some signs of growing up. Clearly that was expecting too much."

"I guess now's not the time for gossip." Floris kept grinning. "But we're definitely going to have to have some girl talk sometime, fearless leader. Don't make me call Lessar and tell her what you've been up to…"

"Call her if you want." Bayloupe retorted with a smug grin, as she ran a hand carelessly through her hair, thrusting out her chest a little so that her breasts bulged the front of the thin T shirt material a bit more. "I doubt you could properly describe what I've been up to. Unless you've changed your internet search history since the last time I updated the parental controls…"

"YOU…!" Floris half rose from the couch, her face red as her teasing was reflected back on her. None of the girls of New Light were precisely innocent of course… there were few innocent magicians in the world, and they weren't amongst them. But that didn't mean that they were all as worldly as Lessar or Bayloupe were, and being reminded of that was a bit of a prick to Floris's pride.

"Better listen to her, Fauna." An unexpected male voice suddenly intruded on the conversation, as Accelerator made his way down the stairs with surprising stealth for a guy with a cane. There was no hiding the superior smirk on his face though, nor the way he bumped up against Bayloupe's side in a familiar fashion. Or even the similarly placed hickey-bruise on the side of his own neck. "Wouldn't want to overheat your imagination, now would we?"

"It's Floris! FLOR-IS!" Floris snapped at Accelerator, flushing even more with her irritation at his apparent inability to remember her proper name. Not to mention his insinuations. "Aren't you supposed to be super smart? Why can't you even remember my name!?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, Forest. I only remember important things." Accelerator brushed her off like he was dusting lint from his sleeve, and Bayloupe had to fight hard not to giggle, knowing that he was now doing it deliberately, even if he hadn't before. He drove the point home even further as he turned to look at the third member of New Light present. "Morning, Lancis."

"Arrrgh! You, smug son of a…" Floris reached for her belt, where her Steel Glove was transformed, almost instinctively, but she stopped short of drawing it when Accelerator returned his gaze to her. Sharper. Stronger. Not glaring, simply staring, as if at an insect crawling across a plate, deciding whether to reach out and smash it or not. She had never actually seen Accelerator in action, but Bayloupe had been pretty descriptive about her one experience fighting against him. And how entirely futile it had been.

"Good morning, Accelerator. Did you sleep well?" Lancis punctured the tension in the room with her soft voiced, polite reply to Accelerator's barb against Floris. Only someone who knew her well would be able to tell how amused she was at the byplay.

"I did. Bayloupe's bed is pretty comfortable." Accelerator replied, the ease with which he admitted they had been sleeping together catching Bayloupe off guard, causing her to flinch and sputter a moment. Well, it wasn't like it was a secret, what with Floris discovering that Accelerator's bed hadn't been used, and the marks on their necks, but still, she had not expected him to be so open about it. She wasn't upset, just surprised.

Lancis giggled, halfway between amused and shocked at the admission, while Floris was left gaping at the bald-faced confirmation that Accelerator had, literally, bedded her big sister and Cabal leader. Seeing that, Bayloupe realized what Accelerator was doing, and her own smirk grew back again. "It is. Especially with him in it." She half-bragged to her younger teammates. If they were going to try and tease her, well then, she would just have to mercilessly utilize the truth to take advantage of their own complete inexperience with men and romance. Well, perhaps there were boys that the other two liked, but they'd never made any real mention of it to her as far as she knew. "Do you wanna hear more? I'm sure we could… educate you… if you're that curious about it… perhaps with some, visual aids…?"

"NO THANK YOU!" Floris declared furiously, crossing her arms in front of her face in an X shape of denial.

"That's all right." Lancis added, glancing aside shyly, but still smiling all the same.

"Well, with that out of the way, I suppose I ought to get down to business." Bayloupe shifted from play to work mode. She glanced aside at Accelerator. "We need to have a team meeting to discuss what went down last night. Can I leave making breakfast for us to you?"

"Tch, fine. But don't you two get used to it." Accelerator indicated Floris and Lancis with a flicker of his eyes as he shambled towards the kitchen and dining room and began investigating what supplies there were to use.

"What went down last night?" Floris asked with a frown, as Bayloupe settled down into an armchair to the side of the couch. She was the unofficial second in command of the team, since Lancis was a devoted follower, and Lessar was an unreliable rogue. She didn't like the feeling of being out of the loop, on a matter serious enough for Bayloupe to give up time with her new boyfriend during his relatively brief visit, just to talk about it with them.

 _Me, on Accelerator's dick._ Bayloupe not resist the immature thought, even as she of course did not voice it. The need for a serious talk aside though, she was still quite aglow with happiness at how well this vacation plan was turning out, and with most of the week still ahead of her! Of course, before she could really relax and enjoy it, there was the matter of the Blood Oath to address. "You know about those mobsters trying to get us to work for them." Bayloupe stated more than asked, drawing nods from the other two.

"I think some of them have been following us lately. Could have sworn I was being watched while out on some of my rounds." Floris's frown deepened contemplatively. "But they didn't seem threatening, so I let it go."

"Me too. You told us that we needed to keep things calm and peaceful as much as possible, so I left them alone too. Though I didn't notice anything this morning, when we came over here." Lancis clicked her claws uneasily. "Have things changed?"

"You could say that." Bayloupe replied, with the British flair for understatement. "Yesterday, one of their enforcers, named Sharkey…" She saw the other two recognize the name, even if neither of them had encountered him directly like she had. "Came around to this place and tried to intimidate me into signing a contract with the mob. Obviously, it didn't work, and Accelerator scared him off for me soon enough." An embellishment perhaps, but Bayloupe wasn't above polishing his image in the eyes of her teammates.

"But Sharkey is just a mundane, and he couldn't take the hint to leave well enough alone. He managed to acquire something that I needed in order to force another meeting later that night, on his own turf instead." Bayloupe wasn't about to tell them about what had happened to Accelerator, now or ever if she could help it. He would not find that amusing. "I was about to at least consider the idea, I mean, persistence is a virtue of sorts after all, and getting the local Mob off our backs would make getting established a lot easier for us all."

"But then he had to go and toss a fucking Blood Oath at me." Bayloupe dropped that bombshell with plenty of vitriol dripping from her tone. Floris gaped again, her face turning red with the same fury that Bayloupe was feeling, while Lancis's face went more pale and concerned. "Yeah. Somehow his bosses got ahold of a legitimate Blood Oath. I won't bother you with the gritty details, but suffice it to say, if I had signed it, we'd all have been their virtual slaves for the rest of our no doubt shitty lives. Obviously, I did not sign it. Sharkey attempted to… coerce me. And Accelerator objected to that just as strenuously as I did."

"Sooo… there were casualties then, is what you're saying… did we just start a war with the Mob?" Floris weighed that idea in her mind for a bit, before shrugging it off. "Guess we are newcomers here, we have to earn our rep back somehow… kind of too bad Lessar is out of town, she's our heavy hitter for these kinds of messy situations…"

"Accelerator is not the best at holding back. Especially when people threaten people he… cares about. And I was pretty hot myself. My Horns were fizzing." Bayloupe shrugged, not to excuse herself, but just to make note of it. "So, we killed them all. Probably close to a score of them, including Sharkey. I hope that it will stand as a statement of strength, and a clear warning, to the Mob bosses further up the chain. They really should know better than to try and cross the line from Mundane to Magical by now."

"But the real problem is the Blood Oath." Lancis cut to the heart of the matter immediately. "A Mundane criminal group never should have been able to get ahold of something like that. Even we can't make one of those, not with all the official seals and wards to make it truly binding anyway. And you say it was specifically tailored to us? How is that… why would anyone do that?"

"We're not exactly popular with the Church and Government right now." Floris pointed out, a trifle savagely. After all, they had been helping the Church with the Lucifer Crisis, including traveling to the Bastion of Science, Academy City, to do so. Far outside their usual purview as British patriots, certainly. But did that earn them any thanks? Any credit? Didn't seem like it at the moment! And this despite them being betrayed by Carissa during the Coup itself as well!

"Yes, but this is more than just harassment or excessive red tape." Bayloupe grimaced, wracking her head and trying to figure out what was going on. It made no sense. Any mage powerful and learned enough to create a true binding Blood Oath had to be deeply under the thumb of either the Church or the Government. It was very troubling to think that someone had bribed, blackmailed or otherwise influenced such a mage to create a personalized Blood Oath tailored against New Light. Even considering their contributions to the failed Coup, it was… an excessive measure for such a small and relatively weak group as theirs.

"Someone, somewhere, likely at the helm of a powerful Cabal, is out to get us." Bayloupe declared flatly. "And they aren't afraid to bend or break the normal rules regarding involving Mundanes to do it, clearly. The question is, what do we do about it?"

"What do you mean?" Floris seemed flabbergasted to even be asked that. "If someone is gunning for us, we have to take em out instead! That's how things are done."

"But can we?" Lancis countered, raising the concerns Bayloupe had already chewed over. "With all the… extra scrutiny we're under from the Church and the Government, our hands are kind of tied, when it comes to getting into a turf war with another Cabal. Especially one that might have ties to the Church or Government."

"I… don't think Accelerator and I left any evidence leading back to us at Sharkey's base." Bayloupe said slowly, thinking hard about it. "So, barring some bad luck, nobody should be able to tie that mess back to us specifically, except for the people who have more to gain by not telling anyone anyway. You're right, Floris, we can't just roll over for whoever is out to get us. But we can't go in with spells blazing and blow their shit up either. We need more information, a more solid handle on who they are and who their backer or ally is."

"We could… ask the Index Librorum Prohibitorum?" Lancis suggested, a trifle hesitantly. "I think she and Lessar are friends. Friendly. Sort of. She might be able to better identify the magical signatures of whoever made the Blood Oath, maybe we could narrow it down from there?"

"That's not a bad idea." Bayloupe acknowledged. "Though with the time difference, she's probably already asleep right now. Or else involved in some sort of misadventure because of her guardian's "rotten luck"." She smirked for a moment at the apt catchphrase. "I'll talk to her tonight though, once its morning for her. Since this is a personal favor and all, and not time sensitive I don't believe."

"Should we call Lessar back? I'm sure she could… convince… the Imagine Breaker to come lend his hand. She'd probably enjoy the excuse to drag him back here, actually." Floris mused. She cut a glance with slight trepidation in Bayloupe's direction. "Though that would make our accommodations a little crowded…"

"I don't think that's necessary. Maybe after we identify who the enemy is, we can get the team together once we decide on a plan of action. Until then, we're on the defensive and information gathering, and Lessar's not so good for either of those things. She can stay in Academy City for now. Out of my hair." Bayloupe answered after considering the idea.

"I'm not sharing a house with the goddamn Hero, if it comes to that." Accelerator butted back into the conversation with his usual bluntness, as he crossed back into the common room, carrying a pair of plates with eggs, toast and bacon in his free hand, while his pants pockets bulged with two cans of coffee. "He can either sleep somewhere else, with his enormous train of female followers, or I'll find somewhere else for myself, just so I don't go crazy dealing with their antics."

"That definitely won't be necessary." Bayloupe said with feeling, as she took her plate from Accelerator's hand, and then made her little sisters goggle a bit with her casual daring, as she reached her hand into Accelerator's left front pants pocket and removed the can of coffee from its snug place therein. And if her fingers may have brushed against a certain part of his anatomy in the process, well, that was just how things went.

"Hey… where's ours!?" Floris managed to ask, after collecting her jaw, her wings fluttering with agitation on her back as she saw that Accelerator was only carrying the two plates, and two cans of coffee.

"You got legs." Accelerator stared at her disdainfully. "Your plates are on the kitchen counter. I'm not your damn butler." He paused a moment, and then added an afterthought as something else occurred to him. "And don't you fucking touch my coffee cans. If I find you snitching those, I'm going to toss you in the ocean. From here."

"Big words…" Floris grumbled, even as she quailed a bit under the force of his supremely confident, arrogant stare. "Who lives here again? Who made you lord of the castle?" She managed to retort all the same.

"I live here, currently. And I'm the fucking God-Emperor of the sovereign state of wherever the fuck I happen to be at any given moment. Got an issue with that? We can take this outside, and you can go for a swim in the fucking ocean. Fanny. Or whatever you're called." Accelerator's lazy, condescending smirk was guaranteed to raise the blood pressure of anyone it was directed at. Certainly, it had that effect on Floris.

"Gah!? B-bayloupe… can I… have permission to kick your boyfriends ASS!?" Floris sputtered in outrage, her fingers forming claws as her wings extended a little bit and flapped in an unconscious threat display. "How… how could you fall for an ASSHOLE like HIM!?"

"Accelerator's never been an asshole to me." Bayloupe leaned back in her chair with a chuckle, as she popped the tab on her can of coffee and took a deep slug of it. "Well… not often, intentionally, I don't think. Not after the fight in the Subway tunnel anyway." She gave Floris a hard stare. "And don't talk nonsense about beating him up. He's on the level of Princess Carissa, with Curtana Original in hand. Also, he's my boyfriend. And you WILL respect that, even if you can't find it in you to respect him."

"So, he can trash talk me, but I can't trash talk him? That's not fair…" Floris complained.

"Talk as much shit as you like. Your witty banter could certainly use the practice. But if you try to escalate to a physical confrontation…" Bayloupe trailed off and shot a sharp smile at Accelerator. "Then he has my permission to spank you a bit. Or send you for a swim in the ocean. Whichever feels most instructive."

"Heh." Accelerator grinned, a bit crazily, before stuffing another forkful of eggs and bacon into his mouth.

"Fine then." Floris sulked, almost pouting for a moment. "But I'll find a way, you ass. I'll GET you, somehow, someway, before you go back to Academy City… I'm gonna get you good!"

"Sure, whatever you say… Florin."

Xxxx

 **Tuesday, Afternoon, City of Blackpoole**

"I can't believe this is what you do for a living." Accelerator commented, not bothering to hide his look of mingled amusement and boredom, as he leaned against the side of the godforsaken scooter and watched Bayloupe. It still wasn't, and never would be, much of a vehicle, but it at least made a comfortable leaning backrest. And having to wrap his arms around Bayloupe while traveling from jobsite to jobsite was getting less and less arduous with each repeated experience.

In truth he was still riding the high from that morning, and even though he was cognizant of the reason for his uncharacteristic good mood, he could not find it in him to dislike it. _Take that, you fuckers…_ He mentally shook a fist at the Delta force and his other male "friends". _Aside from the Spy, and maybe Kagere, I bet I'm the first one to lose my virginity. And it's questionable with the Spy, given his siscon nature. So, I guess this is yet another area where I am, naturally, number 1._ Not that he would be so crass as to brag about it or anything. Not unless there was already bragging going on and he needed to shut the bastards up anyway.

"To be fair, this is not actually what I usually do for a living." Bayloupe replied, hiding a smile as she glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes, noting his smug, indolent posture as he leaned against the scooter and not so subtly checked her out. Even if he didn't precisely realize that was what he was doing, with the way he was staring at her and watching her every move. She had rarely seen him so happy, and even less so, so openly showing it, and it warmed her heart to know that she was the cause of it. Or rather, they were. It almost certainly wouldn't last, as he was naturally irritable and grumpy at the best of times, not without cause usually, but it was still enjoyable to bask in his regard while she could.

"Good, because this is lame, tedious bullshit." Accelerator was never shy about expressing his true opinions on a matter. He was watching Bayloupe slowly walk around the edges of the warehouse/distribution center that was the current jobsite. Every dozen feet or so, she placed a small blank pasteboard card against the wall, usually tucked away in a hard to notice spot, and then spent a minute or two drawing some kind of magic diagram on it and touching it with her fingers in a few spots, before moving on to rinse and repeat.

"Its not glamorous." Bayloupe agreed with a shrug. "But it pays the bills for the time being and doing enough of these bullshit jobs is necessary to establishing our new rep in local circles as reliable workers. Nobody's gonna trust mages who haven't proved that they can handle the simple and tedious bullshit, with the more dangerous, exciting or profitable jobs. Especially independent mages who don't have a big organization willing to guarantee them. This may surprise you, but the magical community isn't exactly full of trusting people, unlike the rulers of Academy City, right?"

"Heh, I guess that's true." Accelerator smirked at her sarcasm. He kept his eyes on her, and despite what some might think, his gaze was not inordinately drawn to her ass, legs or bust. Rather it was her face and her hands that he was interested in. Specifically the words she muttered under her breath, too low for him to hear, while drawing with swift, practiced motions her magical symbols on the blank cards. "What exactly is it that you're doing?" He asked, furrowing his brow as he tried, unsuccessfully, to decipher why this arrangement of symbols and cards would have any effect at all on anything. Magic was such a pain in the ass…

"I'm establishing and fortifying a magical threshold around this space." Bayloupe answered, and then, noticing his grimace of incomprehension, and knowing that he did not like being uninformed, she did her best to put it in layman type terms. "Ok, so one of the basics of using a lot of different types of magic, especially spells that are meant to linger or affect an area, or enchant an object, is to divide that space or object from the rest of the world. That way, when you cast your actual spell, the mana remains where it will do the work you want it to, and not fly away in all directions and dissipate."

"So… like building a mold or template, which you then fill with mana to create the desired effect?" Accelerator tried to put it in more scientific terms, turning to metal-casting or circuitry construction as his metaphors.

"A little. Though with Magic, obviously, the boundary lines you set up don't have to be physical, and usually aren't. Rather, you metaphysically or spiritually divide your work area or subject from the rest of the world, and not completely… the more separation distance you want, the more efficient or powerful your spells will be, but the more time and energy the separation itself requires, and the harder it will be for you to affect anything outside the separated area, or for anything outside the separated area to affect things inside it. The People Clearing Field that a lot of combat-oriented mages use to get civilians out of the way before a magical crisis is one of the more powerful common examples of such a boundary field." Bayloupe answered, rubbing a crick out of her neck from all the constant bending over and walking.

"This is basic level stuff, mind you." She cautioned him. "Most mages can create a sort of rhetorical boundary on the fly, using incantations or diagrams to shape their mana into their preferred spell effects. I guess… like those bubble blower guys we saw at the park with Last Order that one time. The ones that could create shapes out of the bubbles just by waving their hands the right way, or blowing streams of air with their lips." She grimaced, as trying to explain magic using mundane metaphor was a recipe for imperfect understanding to say the least. "Most beginner mages start with a stationary, physical boundary… a magic circle is basically this. You draw the circle, gather and arrange your reagents or symbolic items to properly reinforce and inform your spell theory, infuse with mana while speaking or even thinking the proper incantation, and boom, your spell takes form."

"A more advanced mage can substitute just their words, or just a few reagents or symbolic items, bypassing the need for a magic circle, when dealing with spells they have personally tweaked or researched or created. Basically, the boundary takes place within their mind and beliefs, formed out of their willpower, without the need for the guidelines of the magic circle. Most of the mages you have encountered use Magic in this way, including me. Theoretically, even more advanced ways of using magic, where even the reagents or symbols themselves are metaphorical or exist only within your will, are possible. Though I've never met anyone capable of that. Magic gods can do that, almost certainly." Bayloupe shivered at the thought.

"Hnn." Accelerator grunted thoughtfully, soaking in her words like water into a sponge. It was of course nothing like the way Abilities worked, but that was actually a little exciting. It was rare for him to encounter something truly new and different to learn after all. And as bullshit as Magic was, it still wasn't as bullshit as a certain Anti-AIM wavelength he'd seen before. It had rules. It had methods and theories. It could be, in a way, rationalized, with the proper mental contortions. An idea striking him, he stepped forward, stumping with his cane as always… it was second nature to him now… and bent down to study one of the cards Bayloupe had already placed.

"These are… runes…" He muttered, half to himself, tracing the angular drawings on the card, a certain small part of him enjoying the nearly mathematical precision with which the drawing was made. Good symmetry. Clean angles. Geometry was something he had learned so long ago he couldn't even recall when it was… perhaps before any formal schooling at all. Pausing a moment, he clicked his collar on, and then touched the card again. This time he could feel the magical vectors that Bayloupe had infused into the card. He analyzed them for several minutes, mulling over the way each vector was tied to a collection of the runes, entwined and threaded through it in a way that actually made his brain strain a bit to encapsulate in his imagination.

"These are meant to… keep things out." Accelerator frowned. "Animals… people… no, life, living things. But its weak. The vector magnitude is small. And there's something else. A… tunnel… wormhole… a connection to a specific thing, a circuit waiting to be tripped, or a fuse waiting to be blown… the vectors there are stretched out, and, mirrored, or twinned or something."

"That's, actually kind of incredible." Bayloupe commented, with mingled pride and astonishment, as she strode back towards him after finishing the runecard placements on this particular wall. "I mean, even most practiced mages wouldn't be able to decipher the spells of another mage, even in such general terms, so fast. Not without a good bit of trial and error anyway. You've been a bit spoiled, having the Index around to analyze things in an eyeblink… not a resource most can count on, I assure you. But I see that you're as amazing as usual, even without Index around." She moved to stand by his side, brushing up against him casually but not with any particular intent.

"The spell I'm setting up is a multi-purpose one. That's another thing more experienced mages learn, layering multiple spell effects onto a single boundary or magical circle. This one is based on a lot of the same principles as a People Clearing Field. Like you noted, it's meant to keep things out. In this particular case, this warehouse is often used to store food and other perishables. So, the owners want to keep out vermin and other agent of decay, such as plant spores or fungus. The boundary also affects higher lifeforms, though to a lesser degree. Dogs or even humans will feel… uncomfortable here, if they aren't wearing one of the key items I'll later create and attune. They won't want to linger if they can help it. Anyone with enough willpower, or pretty much any mage, can resist the effect easily, but its not meant for them, just to cut down on vandals or petty theft." Bayloupe explained for him.

"In specific, this particular spell theory is based off the Norse myths surrounding Hel, the underworld, so it evokes the uncomfortable chill of the grave and the unrestful afterlife to ward living things away. There's also an alarm spell woven in, that if the main effect is ever disrupted or when it wears off naturally, will alert the holder of a key item, so they can know the wards have been breached or are in need of renewal." Bayloupe continued, and then got a calculating look on her face. "Willing to try something for me? I don't think it will be dangerous."

"Even if it were, I'd do it if you asked." Accelerator replied, his characteristic bluntness perhaps working against him here as he said something rather more heartfelt than he was comfortable with, judging from the blush that briefly appeared on his cheeks. "Hn. I meant, there's no way I could be harmed anyway, so what do you want?" He coughed, and corrected himself, his glare daring her to make mention of his original comment.

Keeping her face carefully schooled to complete neutrality, even as she was smiling inside, Bayloupe nodded and quickly took out one of her blank runecards, and her marker. "Think you can recreate the circle and runes from memory?" She asked him.

"Please. Who do you think you're talking to?" Accelerator smirked, taking up the card and the marker, and then even closing his eyes as he rapidly recreated the exact circle and runic layout he had seen on the other cards, without even being able to see, just to make the point.

"Good." Bayloupe felt her heartrate increase with excitement. Not arousal, though she was impressed with his copying ability… most mages took tens of thousands of repetitions to accurately and quickly recreate a single magical diagram of their own theory at will, much less one belonging to a different belief system. "Now here's the real experiment. I want you to refine your own mana, and then see if you can infuse it into the card. Try to emulate what I did, see if you can recreate the same effects."

"Interesting." Accelerator grinned broadly, enjoying the challenge. He had grown quite practiced with altering the vectors of his body to refine mana by now, but this would be the first time he'd ever actually put that refined mana to use. Always before it had simply dissolved away like evaporating water over time, unused. He quickly gathered some refined mana from himself… the question of where exactly, or what exactly, he was refining to get this potential energy, would be something he resolved to ask her later. There was the temptation to gather a lot, to overdo it, to try and wow Bayloupe even more, but her ruthlessly stamped on that impulse. First, prove he could do it. Then he could worry about overdoing it.

He was dimly aware of her close presence by his side, almost hovering over him, her eyes intently fixed upon him as he worked the magical vectors of his mana, moving it from some poorly defined place within him, out through his arm and into his hand and fingers. Reconstructing from memory the timing and positioning of fingers that Bayloupe had pressed to specific runes on the card, like entering the digits on a keypad lock, Accelerator concentrated even further. First was a dry run, to get the timing right. Now came the hard part.

He had been able to analyze the magic vectors in the other card to determine their general magnitude and orientation, their quantity and their direction in his usual terms. But he did not know how much mana was needed to accomplish that end result… right now he had a pile of bricks, but he didn't know how many bricks to use to build each of the houses that were the final spell effects. Too few bricks and the spell would fail to take hold and dissipate. Too many bricks in one spot and it would become unbalanced, changing the effect of the spell unpredictably. He had "seen" each of the final end results, but had he seen enough of them to rebuild them with his own bricks? Even he would struggle to accurately count all the bricks making up a building with just a couple minutes of study. He could approximate, sure, but exact numbers were another story.

Accelerator felt a bead of sweat stand out on his brow, his prodigious mind cogitating almost feverishly, weighing possibilities, calculating probabilities and statistical likelihoods. His perceptions were so focused that his fingers seemed to be moving like they were mired in glue, as he gathered mana in his fingertips, and pressed them to the first rune group. Channeling that energy out, carefully cupping its vector to control both direction and speed, like regulating the flow of water in a hose. Building the first house to as close to the dimensions he recalled as he could.

From there things became easier. When the first house failed to disintegrate from lack of bricks, or topple over from too many bricks, that gave him a solid number to work with, even if only within his own imagination. A magnitude. As long as he had that, he had everything. That was what it meant to be the Master of Vectors. His perception of time speeded back up as he tapped the other rune clusters in turn, infusing mana into each, ensuring that he spent it all in the properly calculated amounts, so that even when there was leftover mana, it didn't feel like misplaced mana.

He touched the middle of the card and extended his, for lack of a better word, "vector sense", comparing his work to his analysis of Bayloupe's. Not a perfect replica. But it was stable. Accelerator frowned, a little disappointed he hadn't managed to match the vectors at the 100 percent level. Probably 95 percent, but not 100 percent. Unusually sloppy work for someone of his talents, even if it was his first time ever doing it. A day of first times, a part of his mind tried to distract him with, before he brushed it off, though not without half of his frown turning into a grin.

"Eh, not as hard as I thought." He said, bluffing a bit as he looked up from the card to see Bayloupe's reaction to his work. Barely had he done so though, than he dropped the card, as Bayloupe suddenly leaned forward, grabbing him by the back of the head and pulling him into a fervent kiss, with plenty of tongue, that nearly caused his already heated brain to go into meltdown! When she pulled back, just as suddenly as she'd pressed forward, he actually staggered a moment, leaning heavily on his cane to avoid toppling over, his face flushed and his breathing unsteady. "Gah!? What the hell!?" He stammered, wanting to feel upset, glaring around to make sure no one had witnessed the PDA, but unable to stop smiling, which ruined his glare somewhat.

"That was truly amazing!" Bayloupe wasn't usually one to gush praise, except when it was deserved, but right now she was simultaneously giddy and terrified in equal measure.

"Of course it was. I'm the number 1." Accelerated could not help but preen just a little under the unforced admiration from his girlfriend.

"Yeah you are." Bayloupe smiled at him, and then let that smile turn a little sardonic, as she handed him a stack of blank runecards. "And since you're so amazing, I'm sure you won't have any trouble doing that again another couple dozen times, and helping me complete this job in half the time I expected, right?"

Accelerator gaped at her for a moment. "Are you… seriously palming YOUR job off onto me? I'm not your goddamn subcontractor!" He declared, a bit huffily.

"The sooner we finish this job and I get paid, the sooner we can return home. Where I can tell you how amazing you are, in more… intimate… detail." Bayloupe pointed out, with a subtle cocking of her hips that drew his eyes unconsciously to all the right places to reinforce her point.

"Well, maybe I could do with a little more practice." Accelerator grumbled, hurriedly turning away from her so she couldn't see the blush on his face, and doing his best to act like there wasn't suddenly a bit of uncomfortable stiffness in his pants as well.

"Practice that for now. And we'll practice… other things… later." Bayloupe said teasingly, almost making him stumble despite his cane helping to brace him with every step. But her face did not match her tone. There was a concerned light in her eyes, and a frown on her lips as she watched him go to the other side of the warehouse to begin laying down cards.

 _He shouldn't have been able to do that._ Bayloupe reflected, worriedly. _He has none of the spiritual underpinnings, and understands very little of even the basic theories, much less the mythological symbolism. Monkey see, monkey do is NOT how magic works! I REALLY wish I better understood how his vector control works, and how it interacts with magic. But if he can perceive the vectors of magic, it seems he might be able to replicate them with his own mana… even without understanding exactly what he's doing, or WHY it works. Seems I was wrong. This is… insanely dangerous… for the longest time, mages were reassured that Science side individuals couldn't learn or replicate their magic. But Accelerator… he might be able to. Quickly. Easily. Instinctively._

 _I'd best not say anything yet. I don't fully understand how he was able to do that, and maybe I'm misreading the situation. Guess I have something else to ask the Index about tonight. But if I'm right, the balance between magic and science may be even more broken than anyone realizes. And a lot of people… a lot of mages… aren't going to like that one bit…_ Bayloupe grimaced, and then schooled her expression again. There was nothing she could do about this right now. Best to just finish the job, then head home and reward Accelerator for his terrifying excellence. And then hope Index had some good answers for her…


	6. The Calm Before

**Author Note:**

 **Guess I'll do some review replies here, since most of the people reviewing lately are using anonymous accounts.**

 **Crack Shipping Guy: Not entirely sure what you mean. Touma has been mentioned before in this fic, but he's not appeared and almost certainly won't appear in any substantial way in this fic. If you're looking for a fic about Accelerator to the exclusion of most others, this is definitely a good fit. As for the possibility of Accelerator bedding multiple girls, at some point there may be a possibility of that, if not probably in a long-term harem scenario. There's lots of reasons why I don't think Accelerator from ACIP is a good fit for a harem, even if he has multiple girls that are lusting for him. I don't do one-way harems though, even for the One-Way Road. And Kinuhata Saiai is definitely on the short list for smut scenes if that occurs, given their history from ACIP. Never really been into footjobs myself, but there's no reason I can't pander to some reviewer requests for things like that. I don't judge, after all. I've done kinkier things certainly.**

 **Someguy: Thanks? I assume you meant that as a compliment of some sort. And I guess it makes sense. Both Accelerator and Bayloupe a very smart people, and I want to portray them as such. Including in their sex lives, I want to show them being creative and experimental at times as they find their comfort zones with each other. And because his physical body is so weak, intellectual and emotional stimulation is especially important for Accelerator in my opinion, to achieve maximum pleasure from each act of intimacy.**

 **Mr X: Thanks for identifying yourself? Not sure why, unless you are saying that you questioned at first but then found it more justifiable afterwards? As for your request… I CAN write something like that. But I'm not going to. Certainly not any time soon. I'm not so good at multitasking my writing, unlike Darkbetrayer. As evidenced by my lack of updates for my Gundam Seed mega-trilogy for years now. A Touma-harem ACIP inspired fic, or even insert scenes, would be an entirely different sort of story from Accelerated Light. It is within my capabilities, but not my current interests. Though if you keep reviewing, and offering helpful and even insightful feedback to Accelerated Light, I would certainly feel a lot more like indulging your request after this story is finished.**

 **I suppose if forgetting to capitalize the second B on a stammer is the most noticeable grammatical error I made, my writing is doing pretty well.**

 **Kyon of the Crack: I think naked apron is a little too stereotyped as a Japanese cultural thing for Bayloupe to be into it. Especially in the sense that it implies a certain "homemaker waiting for the provider to come home to a kinky reward" sort of vibe. And as Bayloupe stressed in the first chapter, while she likes Accelerator a lot, including enough to gladly have sex with him and indulge fetishes, and have romantic moments, but she isn't ready yet to declare her Love for him in an enduring sense. Maybe eventually, but even this whole week is just the start of their dating life. She certainly wouldn't see herself as a housewife sort, and I don't think he would see her that way either. Or wish her to be, even in fantasy.**

 **But there will DEFINITELY be indulging of fetishes on both sides to come in future sex or smut scenes. Both "official" fetishes from Darkbetrayer's advice, and others I feel appropriate for them. Such as having her Horns played with, for Bayloupe. But if you meant, will Bayloupe use her sexual experience and maturity to tease, tantalize and stun Accelerator with various fetishes… hell yes, she will! And he might even reciprocate, since he hates to be the lesser partner in anything.**

 **As an additional note, there will be a short bonus scene at the end of this chapter involving other characters from ACIP. Completely unofficial in content, but something I haven't been able to get out of my head. Smuttish in nature. Meant to do it last chapter but got excited to post it and forgot.**

Xxxx

 **Tuesday, Early Evening, New Light's House, Common Room**

Accelerator was in his usually favored position on the couch, reclining backwards with some pillows stuffed between his back and one armrest of the chair, allowing himself to lounge comfortably. Especially without having to worry about a certain hyper-active, overly-physically-affectionate young clone throwing herself onto him at random intervals. Or an older looking, actively malicious and shameless other clone utilizing any manner of dirty tricks and cheap stunts to discommode him otherwise.

Nor did he currently have to worry about Yomikawa or Yoshikawa disrupting him with some random household chore or errand to run. The quiet and calm was… nice. Refreshing. Perhaps not something he would want all the time, even if he would strenuously deny such. Living alone was within his means of course, but despite all the annoyances, he had grown comfortable with the quasi-family sort of arrangement he had at Yomikawa's place. But even someone as patient as him needed a break now and then, and this vacation was turning out to be a pretty good break!

That said, he did have his phone in his hands, and though he had already checked in with the Brat earlier that morning, most of the day had gone by, or for her, most of the night, so he was checking in again to ensure there had been no kidnappings, no explosions, and no random misadventures of the worrying sort. Too much to hope for that there would be no misadventures at all… Last Order had a knack for getting into trouble, only made more pronounced when egged on by Worst or some of the other Sisters.

Which was why, of course, he had made arrangements for her to be looked after while he was away. The Hero, naturally, had promised to check in on her whenever possible, which was more of a relief than Accelerator would admit to anyone else. But Touma could be trusted to handle any major problems, at least long enough for Accelerator to rush back. Of course, if the Hero was using that time to keep his bottomless pit of a Nun occupied as well, then that was only a fair trade. And Last Order still of course slept at Yomikawa's place.

But the rest of the time, whenever she wasn't having school lessons, Accelerator had arranged for… babysitters. In particular one somewhat annoying but definitely fun to mess with Ice Princess from Tokiwadai High, who had been so cocky and bold as to once declare to his face that she would gladly watch out for Last Order and by extension, Worst, if only to deprogram them from the bad habits he was instilling in them. Such were her words, and he'd taken more than a little sadistic delight in throwing them into her face when he had told her that he needed to go out of town for a bit, and asked her if she was going to back down on her promise. Which her pride would never let her do. People used that kind of tactic against him more than he liked to admit, so it felt good to use it on someone else.

A somewhat cruel grin found its way onto his face, which was well accustomed to the expression. _I wonder how she's doing? Its been a couple days, is she ready to crawl abjectly at my feet, begging for forgiveness for her presumption yet?_ His smirk grew, because he had made sure to stack the deck on this one. Worst was bad enough just normally, but he had promised her he'd owe her two favors if she made the entire week an absolute living hell for the Ice Princess. No holds barred, he wanted her best work. If the ice Princess ended up calling him in tears and asking for mercy, he'd add a third favor. The nastier Worst was, the greater the impression of how great his own skill and tolerance in being able to handle her all the time, would be on the Ice Princess.

Of course, he'd made sure to… properly explain… to the Ice Princess what some of the fundamental ground rules were, regarding how Last Order and Worst were to be treated. He had backed the ice girl into a literal corner, in a dark alleyway, trapped her there with his Vectors, and loomed over her, as best he could, with his second-best slasher smile pasted on his face. "If you raise your hand against either of them, if a single hair on either of their heads is so much as unpleasantly ruffled, I will destroy you and everything around you. Impose discipline however you feel necessary, other than by force. But touch either of them in an aggressive way and you will regret ever even hearing of Academy City, much less living there." Those were his words, and from the way she had gone quite pale and unusually silent afterwards, he felt his full seriousness had been properly imparted.

It wasn't anything personal. He'd have threatened anyone save the Hero in a similar manner, and probably worse to be honest. But the Hero could be trusted not to turn violent, even by accident or if provoked. Accelerator didn't trust other, normal people, to do the same. If anything, he'd actually taken it a bit easy on the Ice Princess. His first best slasher smile probably would have had her wetting her panties. He kinda liked her, after all, if only because she was pleasant to screw with and take down from her high horse. She was annoying, but he had the pleasure of knowing that he annoyed her, more than she annoyed him.

The sound of footsteps on the stairs alerted him to Bayloupe's return. After coming home from the last job, she had expressed a desire to change her clothes, so while he had taken his position on the couch and checked in with Last Order and Worst, she had gone upstairs to take a quick shower and change. The brief, aberrant urge to follow her up the stairs, and even into the shower, had occurred to him, but though his hormones had been pretty active so far this vacation, Accelerator wasn't so addled by puberty that he would skip out on his responsibilities just for the potential of some intimacy with his girlfriend.

 _Especially because now that I know Last Order is as safe as she ever is, and that Worst hasn't yet managed to break the Ice Princess's will, I can relax for the rest of the night. No need to rush thin… gs…_ Accelerator's thoughts were derailed as he looked up, watching Bayloupe come around the other side of the couch. She was a fine physical specimen after all, unlike himself, and she had caught his eye plenty of times before, and would continue to do so he imagined. But it wasn't her admitted beauty that had stopped his thoughts short this time… it was her outfit!

"Wha… what are you wearing!?" he demanded of her, his eyes riveted to what she was wearing, his mouth going a bit dry, his thoughts awhirl as he struggled to figure whether or not, against all reason and sense, someone had blabbed to her about things which should remain private!

"What the hell?" Bayloupe asked, arching an eyebrow inquisitively, as she stood in front of him. _No, posed in front of him. It has to be deliberate, no matter how puzzled her expression might be!_ "It's my football clothes, duh." She rolled her eyes at him, as he kept staring at her like she'd suddenly turned to gold or something. She wore a light blue jersey short sleeved shirt, a shade or two darker than her eyes, with a black collar. Her shorts, which were of the shorter than usual variety, but longer than ass-huggers, about to mid-thigh, were the opposite color scheme, black with diagonal light blue stripes on one leg.

Her legs were covered to about an inch or so over her knees by blue and black striped football socks, as was normal for this particular outfit. Her shin guards and stuff were still off, as she wasn't planning to go to the local fields to see if she could find a pick-up game for some exercise until after she'd gotten some cuddling in with her boyfriend. Given that she had briefly considered simply walking downstairs naked, as they weren't expecting any more visitors that evening, just to see if she could get a rise out of him, she was a bit nonplussed to come down in her football clothes and have him react as if she WERE naked!

Accelerator realized that he was acting strangely, and did his best to recover himself. Shaking his head and grunting something under his breath, he did his best to force himself to look away from her. Especially those things she was wearing. _Coincidence?! No, this must be an ambush of some sort…_ He told himself darkly, promising to END one of those damn fools who leaked when he got back to Academy City! "It's nothing. Guess I was seeing things." He grumbled, when Bayloupe continued to eye him.

"Uh huh." Bayloupe did not sound particularly like she bought that, but once again showcasing the discretion that he liked so much about her, she did not press him about his reaction. "Well, whatever. Sit up for a moment, would you?" She asked him.

"Ok." Accelerator complied, taking the chance to sneak another surreptitious peek at what he had found so stunning, flicking his eyes to them and then back to normal orientation, hopefully fast enough that Bayloupe would not notice. He sat upright and then scowled at her. "What nex… what the fuck? What are you doing now!?" He demanded of her, as Bayloupe stepped onto the couch cushion, where his back had just been lying, so that she was now standing behind him. She turned, to put her knees against his back, the sudden warmth of her presence sending shivers through him that he did his absolute best not to show.

"I'm going to spoon on the couch with my boyfriend." Bayloupe explained, a trifle amused, and a trifle exasperated at how jumpy he was being over a complete non-issue. "You being smaller than me, makes you the little spoon, obviously." She lowered herself down into a crouch behind him, and worked one leg between his side and the backrest of the couch, pushing her foot forward, along with her other foot on the open side of the couch, so that Accelerator was now sitting with his hips against her crotch and his back against her chest. She draped an arm across his chest and tugged him back against her, so that his head rested on her shoulder and collarbone. "There. Now isn't this better than just using a pillow?" She asked him with a grin.

"Hn." Accelerator grunted, not willing to admit just how comfortable he found it, but that was admission enough on its own. Bayloupe was warm and soft against his back and sides, but she wasn't clinging to him, wasn't caressing him or fondling him… they were just resting together. It probably would have been relaxing, actually. If not for… that which he was doing his best not to stare at. "I thought I told you that I wasn't a fan of cuddling?" He said, trying to be grumpy instead of dry-mouthed excited.

"You were obviously lying, so that I wouldn't think you were overly emotional." Bayloupe replied drolly. She shifted a little, using her hand to tilt his chin so that he was forced to look up at her for a moment. "Which you aren't, but it's a common male insecurity, especially for strong men, and for those new to intimacy. But trust me… there's nothing wrong with enjoying the touch of someone you care for. Its one of life's simpler pleasures. But also one of the best. Especially for people like you and me, who can only half stand in the light…"

"Whatever." Accelerator twisted his eyes away from her gaze, both because he was a little embarrassed that she had read him so easily, and because as beautiful as her face was, especially at times like this, he still hadn't had his fill of… what he had not expected to see. "Just don't do it around other people."

"Maybe around my little sisters. But I won't embarrass you in front of your friends. Though I think most of them would be more jealous of you than anything." Bayloupe assured him. A thought occurred to her, and she slid her hand down his chest towards his waist, smirking as she felt him flinch and twitch in unconscious reaction. "Relax, I'm looking for your phone, that's all…" She breathed in his ear, amused at his jumpiness.

"It's right here, in my fucking hand!" Accelerator growled at her, lifting it up pointedly.

"So it is. Huh. Could have sworn I saw a bulge in your pants though. Or is that something else?" Bayloupe smirked against his ear, clutching her arms around his chest and sides as she felt him twitch again as she snuggled him firmly.

"You… are asking for it…" Accelerator growled at her, in mingled exasperation and amusement himself. And definitely a little arousal.

"For your phone, I am. For other things, we'll see." Bayloupe answered, as she snatched the phone from his hand and unlocked it. Even before their relationship had become what it was, she had been close enough with him to know his phone password. Solely for emergencies of course, in case he couldn't reach it or someone called when he was busy or the like, but it was a gesture of his trust she cherished all the same. Accessing a certain mostly disused feature on it, she held the phone in front of them both, and pressed a single button, which made a shutter-snap sound when she did so.

"What the fuck did you just do!?" Accelerator demanded of her, his entire body stiff in her grip, a trace of harshness entering his tone. Especially as she didn't return his phone immediately, but instead started pushing other buttons as well.

"Relax." Bayloupe retorted calmly. "I'm just taking a selfie, and then sending it to my phone so that I can set it as my background. Me and my boyfriend, snuggled on the couch. You weren't smiling, but it would have looked strange if you had been. It's a girl thing. We're allowed to be sentimental like this. It's in the rules."

"I don't play by any rules but my own." Accelerator huffed, but he did relax a little bit, and more when Bayloupe flipped his phone shut after sending that single picture. However, his relaxation ended as Bayloupe did two things in rapid succession. One, she dropped his phone, right into his lap, so that it fell between his own legs onto the couch cushion. And two, she lifted up her lower legs on both sides of him, shifting their position form beside his own legs, to atop his legs, pinning them to the couch. "What the…?"

"We'll see about that. Right now, we're playing a game with my rules…" Bayloupe whispered in sultry tones in his ear. Keeping his hands and arms largely pinned to his sides as she began sliding her palms down the front of his shirt. At the same time, she started rubbing her sock clad feet up and down the insides of his calves, holding him almost prisoner in her arms, with her breasts pressed firmly against his back.

Her hands reached his waist, and slid down further. Across the tops of his thighs, deliberately avoiding the front of his crotch as they darted down between his legs. Despite himself, Accelerator bit his lip to contain a gasp of excitement. "Seems like there's a couple hard things down here." Bayloupe's smoky voice muttered in his ear. "Shall I… grab them for you?" She paused a few moments and then spoke, with a smile audible in every word. "Strange. You're not watching my hands right now. Seems there's something else that has caught your eye."

"I don't know what the fuck you're on about." Accelerator denied firmly, even as he could not remove his gaze from what he found so fascinating.

"Oh really…" Bayloupe carefully folded her right leg up to almost put her sock covered calf in his lap. Forming a bar with her lower leg across the top middle of his thighs. Her hand against his crotch revealed to her the full story, feeling him get even stiffer than before, and twitchy. "So, you like high socks do you? Or, what is it the Japanese call it? Knee socks? You like them on me?" She breathed against the back of his neck. "Usually this is more Lessar's style, but its what you wear for football, especially when its cold, so I have some as well."

"Who told you… which one of them ratted me out…" Accelerator demanded, gritting his teeth in mingled frustration and arousal.

"Which one of… oh." Bayloupe had not the foggiest idea what he was talking about, but she wasn't slow on the uptake either. And it wasn't like she minded throwing a little trouble someone else's way, if he was already predisposed to thinking such things. "I think it was… the dark one, who betrayed you."

 _Dark one? Either she means hair, in which case the Hero is going to be in for it, or she means shadows, in which case Kagere needs to be reminded why he doesn't want to be on my bad side!_ Accelerator promised himself furiously. And then more greedily focused his eyes upon Bayloupe's kneesock clad leg. He couldn't quite say what about them drew him so strongly, but they were just delicious! Especially on Bayloupe's long and toned legs. She didn't normally wear them, and he wasn't about to ask her to change her style just to cater to his own fetish… but if she put them on to tease him like this? That was as good as asking for it, in his opinion!

He tried to shift around in Bayloupe's grip to get face to face with her, but she wasn't having it, and without his Collar flicked on, he could not overpower her. And she had his arms pinned, so he couldn't flick it himself. _I need to learn that magic telekinesis trick. That would stop this from being an issue ever again._ He made a note for himself. He quickly almost forgot it though, as Bayloupe dexterously unzipped his pants and slide her hand inside his jeans, closing her palm and knowing fingers around his boxer clad erection! He hissed and shuddered at the burst of pleasant sensation.

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about." Bayloupe kissed him on the tip of his ear, nibbling for a moment as she began stroking his cock through his boxers with her hand. Slow but intensely, letting the cloth of his underwear add a slightly different sensation than her bare fingers and palm would have. She slid her kneesock clad right leg up and down his thighs, working her toes against his knees and upper calves, while she held him prisoner with her left arm and left leg. She doubted that Accelerator was the sort to be into bondage, of himself anyway, and certainly not into submission. But being erotically pinned and teased and touched was different.

"I happen to like neckties." Bayloupe continued, moving to kiss and nibble his other earlobe. "Especially when they're worn a bit loose and careless. A sloppy necktie, on a guy with his shirt half unbuttoned, in jeans with no socks on, leaning against the wall with a cocky smirk on his face and his hair half in his eyes, when I come home… mmm, that's tasty…"

 _Note to self. Acquire button down shirt and selection of neckties before I leave England._ Accelerator told himself, a trifle hazily, as he was getting a bit lost in the pleasure of Bayloupe's slow, intense handjob and the visual stimulation of her kneesock clad legs. Thus, it was with considerable disappointment that he felt her hand withdraw from his pants, and her grip on him with her arms and legs slacken. He turned his head, not sure whether he should glare at her or ask her if something was wrong, but before he could find the right expression or the right words, he felt her wriggle out from behind him, and then her hands on his shoulders pressing him back onto the couch, so that he was lying supine on his back.

Bayloupe then pushed herself down on top of him, straddling his head to either side with her kneesock clad knees, as her hands expertly undid his pants and pushed them, and his boxers, down his legs to his calves. "What the fuck are you…" Accelerator tried to demand of her, before her crotch, still contained by her shorts and panties, but her crotch nonetheless, pressed down against his face, covering his entire field of view in shiny black fabric, and the intense smell of a horny girl. He heard Bayloupe mutter something to herself, and caught the words Breath and Nifelheim, but not the rest of it.

A moment after that, what felt like icy winds blown straight out of a freezer, brushed against his cock and balls, completely out of nowhere! The shock of the cold was so sudden, so unexpected, it was actually almost a little painful, his cock jumping and twitching as it was cooled down while still so erect, as goosebumps broke out across his upper thighs and abdomen. He was about to curse furiously at what really wasn't a pleasant sensation, when Bayloupe made it all better. And then some!

Her mouth enveloped his dick, and suddenly he was surrounded on all sides by intense, steamy hot warmth and wetness, sucking and slurping tight around his cock as Bayloupe pushed down, taking him deep, not just into her mouth but into her throat! Swallowing his whole cock down to the balls, her tongue pressing against the tops of his testicles as she deepthroated him and warmed his chilled cock completely! The transition from unpleasant chill to divine warmth was fast and stunning in its potent reversal of sensation!

"Gaaaaahhhh…" Accelerator exclaimed softly, more like a wheeze as air left his lungs after a punch to the gut, his face still trapped by Bayloupe's crotch, unable to see, unable to move, barely even able to breathe freely, inhaling her arousal each time he took a deep breath. His hands clutched instinctively at her thighs and calves, his palm tingling as he ran his hand up and down her legs, feeling the transition from soft sock to creamy skin and back again.

"Mmmph!" Bayloupe moaned liquidly as she slowly backed off on his cock, applying strong suction as she inched back up his shaft, until it felt like she was trying to suck his cock right off his body through mouth suction alone! Reaching his tip, she swirled her tongue around and around on his glans for a few moments, opening her lips at the corners to allow a few puffs of strangely chilled air to leak in and send shivering spasms through his warmed manhood. And then she plunged all the way back down to his base again, warming him and slobbering on him, working her tongue and her saliva all the way around him as she hummed, deep and slow, with clear contentment in what she was doing!

The vibrations of her humming while his cock was in her throat nearly made Accelerator explode right then and there, but he fought down the burst of whiteness in his head, and the rising tension in his gut and thighs. _Won't be that easy!_ He growled to himself, determined not to allow Bayloupe to, if not per se defeat him, at least get a point up on him, so easily! He began doing his best to divert his attention away from what was going on, doing vector calculations in his head, despite lacking most of his usual brainpower. That always gave him a headache.

He clung to that headache like a drowning man to a life preserver over the next couple minutes. Gritting his teeth and squeezing his eyes shut in focused concentration, his hands squeezing tight against Bayloupe's knees without him really noticing. Resisting her fellatio with everything he could muster. Ignoring the long, slow, suction as she back up off him, and the intense, warm caresses of her mouth and tongue when she took him to the base! His cock was alternately teased with chill and blessed with warmth and then pleasured with vibration and suction! His balls were aching so hard with the need to release that it almost made him want to whimper, but he fought it down. He would take the worst she had and emerge triumphant!

"Playing hard to get, are we?" Bayloupe pulled her mouth off his dick, as he stubbornly refused to cum even after several minutes of some of her best deep throat fellatio. Which she had been fairly sure would make him pop in seconds, not minutes. Accelerator, of course, did not reply, with his face in her crotch while they were 69ing, but she could feel a strained smile against her crotch all the same. She considered removing her shorts and panties to provide him with more visual stimulation, but it wasn't a lack a stimulation that was the issue here, he was resisting her out of stubborn male pride! He would just close his eyes and ignore her, even if her bare, deeply wet pussy was touching his nose!

"So be it. I'll take off the kid gloves then." Bayloupe remarked with a confident sneer, feeling that smile against her groin somewhat fade as Accelerator took in her tone. Before her boyfriend could change his own tactics of resistance, Bayloupe struck with a blitzkrieg assault. She stuck her finger into her mouth to wet it with saliva, while canceling the Breath of Nifelheim spell she had cast earlier to turn her breath all frosty when expelled from her lips. She took Accelerator's pulsing tip between her lips, lathing him with her tongue while her left hand cupped and fondled his ballsack.

Her right hand dived lower than that though, expertly finding and targeting an unexpected weak spot on many men. She found the tightly puckered ring of muscle and forced her saliva lubed finger through it, and penetrated him with that single digit! Accelerator went stiff as a board, caught completely off guard by her sudden anal stimulation, and she didn't give him time to get angry about it. Pushing in an inch or so deeper and curling her fingertip around, Bayloupe found the back of his prostrate area, which was a big bundle of nerves amongst other things. She pressed against it while kissing and licking the tip of his dick and gently massaging his balls.

 _WHAT THE FUCK IS SHE… NNNNNGGGGGGHHHHH!?_ Accelerator's furious thought was canceled out in a rush of whiteness that might as well have been an avalanche! His entire lower body bucked ferociously, like he was having a violent seizure, and he opened his mouth to yell in pleasure and shock, if not for Bayloupe's shorts clad crotch stifling him, and filling his mouth with the taste of her womanhood, which was unlike anything he'd ever had before. He felt himself cumming, the sperm blasting out of his testicles and racing up his cock with an almost burning sensation of too-long delayed release!

Bayloupe closed her eyes and smiled, holding her face steady as Accelerator bucked in a powerful and unexpected orgasm beneath her, moaning into her pussy through her shorts as he sprayed his pent of cum all over her face. Several big, sticky hot spurts landed on her eyelids, nose, lips and cheeks. There was certainly nothing wrong with his testicles ability to produce semen, even if the rest of his body would get worn out after a single climax. Wasn't the largest facial she'd ever taken, but it was respectable. She slowly took her finger out of his anus, tickling the prostrate the whole way, making him twitch and shudder heavily as she did so.

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS…" Accelerator couldn't seem to finish a thought properly. Bayloupe had moved off from straddling his head with her hips and sex, and after getting a bit of his breath back from a painfully intense orgasm, he had remembered what she had done to cause it, against his will, to a degree! Her finger was the largest thing to ever penetrate his body that wasn't trying to kill him. And he wasn't sure how to feel about it. On one hand, it was embarrassing as hell and he felt a little bit… violated… unexpectedly so. On the other, it had not hurt, and in fact had felt so good that it completely overwhelmed his math barrier despite his best efforts!

What derailed him this time was the look on Bayloupe's face. Sure, it was a bit smug and all, but the fact that her face was covered in lines of his own cum, robbed her expression of any annoying factors, and replaced them with intriguingly arousing ones. Well, arousing in the emotional sense… his cock was as limp as a piece of wet string after all that, and he knew it would be hours before he fully recovered for another try. She carefully opened her eyes and smiled at him, lifting one hand to use a finger, not the one she'd used in his ass, but another, to wipe up some of the cum facial… and then slowly, deliberately sucked it off her digit while still smiling at him.

"Did you like it?" She asked him, in mock coyness. "Don't be shy. Lots of men like a little anal play now and then, especially when they're backed up."

"Fuck you, you damned erotic witch…" Accelerator slumped back on the couch, still breathing heavily from his exertions.

"I guess technically I am. Some of the more old-fashioned people still do call independent female magic users Witches. And I'm certainly erotic... when the mood strikes me." Bayloupe smirked at him. She wiped another line of his cum off her face with her finger, and licked it clean, nice and slow, watching his eyes flicker between that act and her kneesocks. He managed to take her off guard though, when he suddenly brought his phone around and snapped a picture of her, catching her with her mouth open and a bit of semen dripping off her fingertip onto her extended tongue while she looked right at the camera. "What the…"

"If you're allowed to have a background pic, I should get one as well." He told her, as he messed around with his phone with one hand, and began pulling his pants back into place with the other.

"Seriously?" Bayloupe arched an eyebrow at him. "I mean, go ahead, I don't mind. But you know that Last Order, or definitely Worst, will find out about it if you do. I'm not going to take responsibility for what happens after that."

"Perhaps you have a point." Accelerator grudgingly acknowledged. He didn't delete the picture though, but instead saved it in a randomly named file folder inside a whole chain of other random file folders that would not be easily found by anyone who did not know to look for it. He looked up at her as she continued to clean his cum off her face and then lick her fingers clean. "Is… it tasty?" He asked her with a furrowed brow.

"Semen is not particularly tasty. But I don't mind swallowing it when its yours. Whether or not I like the guy makes a big difference. They say hunger is the best spice when it comes to food. Well, attraction is the best flavoring, when it comes to semen." Bayloupe answered with a shrug. "It's also prudent. A hostile mage could do a lot of harm if they ever got a sample of your blood or your semen to use as a focus for a curse or other spell. Especially since you don't know any counter curse spells. Yet."

Accelerator let that go, as another thought had occurred to him on the main topic. "This morning… I… came inside you…" He said, flushing as he said it out loud, but forcing himself to go on. "That's… not going to be an issue, is it? I was, lost in the moment, and didn't think to ask or look for… condoms."

"Your concern is noted, and is adorable, but don't worry about it." Bayloupe assured him, which just made him growl in annoyance. "For one, I'm on some medication that helps regulate the strength of my periods, and that contains elements that act in a birth control fashion. For two, I'm versed in spells that women have used for over a thousand years to deal with this particular situation, which will prevent any untimely… accidents in my womb."

"A thousand years?" Accelerator looked thoughtful at that particular phrase.

"You know that I'm not a Christian, right? In their terms, I, and the rest of New Light, are pagans. I worship the Norse pantheon, as that is the type of magic I use. The entire magical system is formulated around belief in those gods and goddesses and their legends and myths… it doesn't work unless you have faith." Bayloupe told him, mostly accurately. After all, she herself had witnessed him using simple Norse magic that very afternoon, without any belief or faith at all. She was still chewing on that herself though, so she did not mention it. "Norse magic traditions go back longer than a millennium, but the one who taught it to me didn't know the stuff from before the Viking era."

"I really don't know much of anything about your magic. Or your religion. Or why they are related. All I know for sure is that it's useful, and you seem to be good at it." Accelerator admitted, but with an interested light in his eyes. "We should change that while I'm here."

"I'm not against that." Bayloupe answered with a smile. "But perhaps not tonight. First, I need to go back upstairs and change my panties, and wash my face. That was a lot of fun for me too, I'll have you know. After that, I was thinking of going out to find a game of pickup football for some stress free fun. You'd be coming along to spectate and cheer me on, of course. Then we'd find some dinner on the way back, enjoy the nightlife of the city a little, and then come back home for a nice, long, hot shower… together if you want."

"I have heard worse plans." Accelerator said, propping himself upright on his pillow rest again, his body still feeling a little enervated and drained, but not unpleasantly, from his climax. "And been part of much worse ones." He muttered, half to himself, remembering several occasions he had been dragged into stupid, but ultimately fun, hijinks with the Delta Force.

"And if you're good and actually do a little cheering on the sidelines, I promise I'll let you peel my kneesocks off me yourself when we get home. Maybe even in the shower, when they get all wet and clingy…" Bayloupe said over her shoulder as she mounted the stairs.

"Shut the hell up and go change your goddamned underwear, you witch!"

xxxx

 **Wednesday, early morning, Academy City, Yomikawa apartment, Worst's room**

The buzzing of her cellphone awoke Misaka Worst from the satisfied slumber of a woman who loved her job, and was being well paid for it. Never a morning person under the best of circumstances, she very nearly directed a line of electricity at the buzzing phone to shut it off, perhaps permanently. On the fact that she had burnt out enough phones by now that Yomikawa was making her actually earn the money to buy new ones through chores held her back. Besides, destroying her own property wasn't nearly as much fun as destroying other people's property.

 _Misaka is still not happy…_ she grumbled to herself as she flopped her hand muzzily around on the bedside table to find the phone. _Someone will pay for waking Misaka up so early._ She found the phone and pulled it under the covers with her, flicking the screen on and cracking one eye open to see who it was that had earned her wrath. Or was simply convenient for it, as she wasn't one to pass up a chance to make someone miserable whether they deserved it or not.

Somewhat to her surprise, it wasn't an inbound call that had awoken her, but rather a pre-set alarm on a data sharing program she herself had set up on the phone, and then mostly forgotten about. One of the first things she had done after settling in with Tou-san and the Moderator, had been to bug their phones using her Electromaster power to do the hacking, so that she could easily access their personal data and communications. Just to make sure they didn't hide anything from her, especially juicy things. It gave her plenty of things to tease the Moderator about.

Tou-san on the other hand, was much more guarded with his phone. Generally he only used it to call or text people, and while Worst had gotten plenty of kicks with reading his private text logs between himself and some of the girls that knew him, most of them were sadly not very juicy unless you were really looking hard. Certainly nothing she could use to torment the Moderator with, or blackmail Tou-san with. But she had installed the secret data sharing program anyway, just on the off chance it might be useful someday.

 _Seems that day is today, lucky Misaka…_ She thought with her first evil grin of the day, as she discovered that Tou-san had taken two photographs, one of which had been sent to another phone in his contact list, that of Bayloupe. Worst didn't dislike Bayloupe, as she was useful, and fun to mess with, especially as she grew close to Tou-san. And because it bothered the Moderator how close she was getting with Tou-san, and anyone that bugged the Moderate had a gold star in Worst's book. Didn't stop her from pranking and screwing with the silver haired Englishwoman, not in the slightest. But it wasn't as malicious as she COULD be. Not like the way Tou-san was paying her to screw over the snooty Tokiwadai ice Princess.

And it looked like Tou-san had provided her with some inadvertent help in that regard. Worst called up the photos and had to fight very hard not to chortle at the top of her lungs with wicked glee. Now this… THIS was the juicy stuff she had been waiting for! One picture of Tou-san and Bayloupe spooning on the couch, with Tou-san trying to look tough but clearly enjoying himself, and Bayloupe smirking like Worst herself after pulling off a thigh slapper of a cruel prank. Worst thought only a couple seconds before sending that photo onwards to two other phones of her acquaintance. One to her "babysitter" for the week, and another to a certain flat chested dark-side Nitrogen wielder she'd bumped into hanging around Tou-san a few times.

The other photo was quite a bit raunchier, showing Bayloupe with her face covered in fresh jizz, licking it off her fingertips with an expression of aroused delight on her face. Worst struggled a bit with this one. On one hand, she probably would sleep with Tou-san if he ever broke down under her teasing, but only to screw with the Moderator, it wasn't like she was in love with him or anything. So a tiny part of her felt a bit jealous of Bayloupe's success, in a shorter timespan than Worst had had to get through his defenses. On the other, she knew at least two girls who were MUCH more interested in him than she was.

But she'd already sent them a picture. And while sending them the second would certainly increase the reaction potential… why blow her load, so to speak, all at once? No sense using an incendiary grenade to light a fire when you already had matches and gasoline on hand, after all. _Misaka will save this one._ She decided smugly. _Misaka wonders what Tou-san would pay for it to not be shared with all his friends…_

With her day not even properly begun yet, and at least two evil deeds in the working, Worst dropped her phone on the floor and pressed her face back into her pillows to get some rest. She and the Moderator were supposed to check in with the Ice Princess in an hour or so before heading to school. She would take pleasure in being late for that…

Xxxx

Bonus Omake scene

Xxxx

 **Academy City, Sometime, Possibly**

Jason approached the block his apartment was on at a slow walk. His movements were those of a burdened man, like he had half the weight of the world on his shoulders, and was pulling a good portion of the rest behind him too. Which, in a certain sense, wasn't too far off from the truth. His plans were entering ever more crucial and delicate stages, where failure grew exponentially more likely, and more costly, the closer he drew to the finish line. That, combined with the work he was forced to do with the city, and the misadventures he was constantly drawn into with Touma and the others… not to mention his irrational but heartfelt attempts at having a normal teenage life, every so often anyway, meant that he wasn't getting a lot of sleep. And hadn't been for a long time.

Adding to his current stress was the fact that despite officially being on vacation from his work with the city after all the ruckus that Eve and her minions had been causing had died down for the time being, he was still getting calls on his "off time". The Kihara's had not taken his refusal to return to their ranks and share his discoveries and insights on various topics with them lightly. And while he was positioned in the city's hierarchy such that they could not strike at him directly, not easily anyway, and had no say over his work or who he reported to, that just meant they had to approach the problem differently.

So, some of them were engaging in a campaign of harassment, calling him for advice and consultations at all hours of the day and night, completely irrespective of where he might be or what he might be doing. And while a lot of them he could and did just ignore, or tell them to roundly fuck off, some of them came on more official lines. And thus, he had to toe the line, even if just barely, and give the bare minimum politeness, and listen to the caller, and even sometimes give a little advice or a grudging opinion. It was petty bullshit, the annoying buzzing of a gnat around his ears, but even a small distraction could cause a stumble at an inopportune moment if he wasn't careful.

Which was likely their goal. They didn't expect their harassment to actually truly impede him on a day to day basis. They just wanted to wear him down, stretch him thin, so that when they made their next overt move, he would be more vulnerable, less alert, tired and distracted. He was currently on the phone with one such persistent nagger, who was always pressing for more information on the anti-Aim wavelength he'd discovered in Touma's Imagine Breaker. The fact that the topic was such a sensitive one meant that he couldn't just brush it off, so he had to listen to the bastard ramble on about theories that could never be proven, and experimental ideas that would never be authorized, and pretend like he wanted to help.

Suppressing the urge to growl, Jason unlocked his apartment door and stepped inside, glowering at the floor as he stepped out of his shoes as the door clicked shut behind him. Stretching and curling his toes to work out some kinks, he gritted his teeth while trying to figure out how to ditch the call. And that was when, quite naturally, his gaze lifted, not really looking at anything, simply rising as he stepped forward into his apartment, perhaps to collapse on the couch, or head into the kitchen for an afternoon snack.

However, what he beheld completely stunned him, so much so that he almost dropped his phone from suddenly nerveless fingers, the droning of the elder Kihara on the other end suddenly fading to little more than background static as his attention fully switched to other matters! Because Jason was not alone in his apartment. And his uninvited, unexpected… but far from unwelcome… guests absolutely DEMANDED his full attention right then!

"Hey there, Stud, welcome home…" One of the two girls, the tawny haired one with twin pigtails, said in sultry tones, as she turned to look at him with a Cheshire grin on her face. She was standing next to the door that led from the common room into his bedroom, leaning forward at a slight angle, her thin but strong arms placed firmly against the wall. Trapping between them the second girl with shorter black hair, of roughly equal height, who was noticeably missing her usual flower hairband accessory.

Seeing Kuroko basically pinning Kazari to the wall of his apartment, leaning in like they were about to kiss, or had been kissing, was certainly stimulating enough on its own! Kuroko was not shy about her sexual interests after all, and she definitely swung both ways, and had a way of enticing Kazari into participating even if she was unsure to begin with. Then again, Kazari herself had a stunningly naughty mind, perhaps from reading too much erotic and romance manga in her spare time.

But what was most arresting was how his girlfriends were currently dressed. Kuroko wore what looked like bits and pieces of the Kuroneko-chan ice cream mascot costume he'd once tricked/compelled her to wear as part of paying off a bet. But, large chunks of it were missing… she had on the long black stockings and garter belt with frills and lace, as well as the long black gloves ending in cat paws, and the cat ear headband with French maid frill. But there was no maid outfit, just a sheer, mostly translucent lingerie style gown with a ruffled miniskirt on the bottom. It was red, but the only truly colored in part was the skirt, which covered Kuroko's hips and butt… but only barely. There was a black cat tail accessory extending on a curve out behind her… Jason couldn't see if it attached to the back of the lingerie… or was coming out from the gap in Kuroko's thighs BENEATH IT!

"We noticed you were looking a little down lately." Kuroko went on, her grin only widening as she saw his stunned look. "So we put our heads together…" She leaned even closer to Kazari, and nuzzled her Judgement partner and girlfriend on the cheek and neck, extending her tongue and lasciviously licking along her pulse point and down onto her collarbone. "And decided to cheer you up…"

"Heeeep!?" Kazari squeaked at this display of intimacy, and Jason could not help but think of it as a squeak, rather than a moan or a squeal. Because Kazari was also dressed in a costume, one he had not seen before. She had similar leggings and gloves to Kuroko, but were a medium gray instead of black, and the paws on the end of her gloves were softer and fluffier. In place of her usual headband she had a big pair of mouse ears, like something you'd find in Disneyworld, on her head. She even had some grey whiskers painted on her blushing cheeks. She too wore a filmy lingerie-type dress, but hers was less translucent and grey-silver in color. And her tail was clearly connected to the back of the skirt at the waistline, not coming from underneath the skirt and attached… elsewhere… like Kuroko's might have been.

"So how about it, Stud?" Kuroko said teasingly, her eyes aglow with lust, as she cupped Kazari's chin with one pawed hand. For her part, Kazari looked incredibly embarrassed… but also turned on, and her resolve not to fidget or flinch or flee was arousing in its own way. It was clear she was feeling shy and embarrassed… but she wasn't being forced into this. She wanted this, just like Kuroko did. "Feel like a game… of Cat and Mouse…? Mmmm…" Kuroko asked wickedly, and muffled Kazari's next squeak with a full on tongue kiss and body petting.

The phone dropped almost unnoticed from Jason's tingling fingers. He barely remembered to end the call before tossing it across the room, not really caring where it might end up. His Shadow began spilling out around him to either side, shadow tendrils… or where they tentacles… beginning to box the two girls in from all sides as he began stalking closer. Suddenly life didn't seem nearly so stressful anymore…


	7. Thunder in the Night

**Author Note: Sorry about the relatively long dearth between chapters. Hopefully that won't be the case going forward. This chapter is mostly plot setup for major plot happenings next chapter, but it should still be interesting I hope. Introducing another new character anyway.**

xxxx

 **Tuesday, Late Evening, On the road to New Light's House**

Sweaty, tired and feeling the lactic ache and burn in the muscles of her calves, thighs and lower back, Bayloupe had to focus hard to avoid drifting into a content haze, as she guided the motorscooter along the backwoods curves of the road that would eventually lead her home once more. She was in no particular hurry, the scooter puttering along at about half the speed limit, but at this time of night and on these roads, there was no other traffic to worry about anyway. The warm half embrace of Accelerator, sitting on the pillion seat behind her, was both distracting and comfortable. He had his arms clutched around her waist once more, his hands latched together below her belly button, and she was pleased to feel that his posture was less stiff than previous times he had ridden behind her. Not quite relaxed, not yet, but not trying so hard to appear like he wasn't enjoying it.

She had managed to find a spot in a pickup game of football at one of the local parks, just as she'd hoped. Nothing really all that organized, just a group of youths and teenagers looking for an excuse to run and shout and kick around a ball. Though football was always a serious sport to the English, and Bayloupe considered herself no exception to that. Even in a casual pickup game, she tried hard, and played to the best of her abilities, including sliding tackles, shoulder shoving and even getting knocked on her own ass once or twice when she was out-leveraged by other players in a scrum for the ball. Nobody was really keeping score though, besides on whoever had scored last, and people played until they were too tired to continue, then other people stepped in for them.

Meanwhile, Accelerator had joined the group of bystanders, significant others and casual fans who had stopped to watch and cheer the impromptu game. Somewhat uncomfortably to be sure, as his Asian heritage and unique appearance definitely made him stand out a bit. And he was also one of relatively few males standing on the sidelines, most of the onlookers were female, though there were also a few girls in the game, besides Bayloupe herself. Of course, with his cane there was no way he could join the game, unless he used his ability, at which point in time it wouldn't be much of a game for anyone else.

In the end, despite her half serious teasing before leaving the house, Accelerator had not ended up actually cheering for her, nor even joining in with the more general encouragements and curses being shouted from the other bystanders. Bayloupe didn't mind though, as that had mostly been teasing anyway, it would be unlike him to be so unreserved in public, even over a trivial thing. Really the fact that he had actually stayed on the sidelines and watched her play the whole time, even in silence, rather than wandering off or away from the crowds, as he had no doubt wished to do, had earned him "good boyfriend" points in her book for the night.

With the game done, or at least her energy for the game exhausted, they had climbed aboard the scooter once more and headed back home, Bayloupe taking a somewhat extended route more or less on a whim. That was just the mood at the time. Not in any rush to be anywhere or do anything, simply enjoying the time together. Especially when it was just the two of them, rolling slowly down the blacktop, the night air closing softly all around them, like they were the only people around for miles and miles. It was positively dream-like, and Bayloupe had to keep shifting her position slightly to keep her eyes from blinking shut in contented relaxation.

Unfortunately, all dreams end eventually, and this one came to a close sooner than she would have liked. They were still more than half a mile away from her home, on a long, slow curve of road that would eventually run past the house, approaching from the opposite direction that she usually came and went. And ahead of her Bayloupe could see flashing red and blue lights, and from their position they seemed to be parked right in front of her house. She felt Accelerator stiffen behind her as well, his keen eyes and sense for spatial positioning likewise telling him that the source of the lights was at their destination. And red and blue flashing lights was fairly well known the world over as the sign of the police on active duty.

Though in point of fact, when she finally got within the last couple hundred feet, Bayloupe saw that the cop car wasn't actually parked directly outside her house, but rather at the edge of the property line instead. It was still clearly there purposefully, as there weren't any other properties for a quarter mile in either direction, just wild space… the isolation of the spot was why New Light had selected it for a safe house in the first place. There were a couple of vague humanoid shapes sitting in the front seats of the car, but they were barely more than silhouettes in the evening gloom.

Of greater note was the figure she could see leaning casually against the gate to the fence around her yard. A tall man, wearing an ankle length, open fronted, velvety duster style coat of deep burgundy red hue, which oddly did not shift in hue due to the flashing of the police car lights. Beneath the coat he wore a crisply pressed white dress shirt and black slacks the color of midnight oil, and a pair of knee-high red leather boots of similar hue to his coat. A wide brimmed, high peaked burgundy red velvet fedora sat at a cocky angle on his head.

Around his neck, and placed front and center in his hatband, were a pair of large crystals set into silvery mountings. They pulsed and glowed with clear otherworldly energies, the one in his hat the fierce orange of a fresh ember, while the one in the amulet around his neck was bright, sunshine yellow. Illuminated in the glow, his fair skin, dusted lightly with freckles, and bleached blond hair was clearly visible. In one hand he clutched a tall staff of black wood, topped with a starburst mounting of white gold, into which was set a third colored crystal, this one deep azure blue in hue.

He was a cool and intimidating looking customer, if you were into the more ostentatious sort of displays, and could not have been any more clearly a Mage had he worn a placard proclaiming it around his neck. He was also not entirely unfamiliar to Bayloupe, nor would he have been to any Mage who wanted to live and work in the Blackpoole area. She coasted the scooter to a stop by the curb a few feet away, bracing with her feet to either side as she stared at him, doing her best to show no reaction to finding him there at this time of night, and in this manner.

"You know, riding without a helmet is against the law." The mage spoke up before Bayloupe or Accelerator could say anything, though the tone of his words was more sardonically teasing than accusing.

"I didn't know you were getting into traffic enforcement duties, Magister." Bayloupe inclined her head just slightly in the barest minimum gesture of respect for the man's office, even if she did not have particularly much in the way of time for the man himself. She felt Accelerator tensing slightly behind her, easily picking up on her wary mood, and cool exchange of words. She reached a hand behind her and laid it on his thigh, hoping it would keep him from saying or doing anything too rashly.

"Laws exist for a reason, especially safety ones. It would be such a shame for the local community if you were to suffer a head injury during a bad accident, Bayloupe." The Magister pushed away from the fencepost he was leaning on, a sardonic grin on his self-assured face. He was a handsome man, in his mid-twenties, and clearly knew it and reveled in it, with a surfeit of self-confidence, though not entirely unwarranted either, given his position in the local hierarchy. "And think of your guest, what might Academy City think of us if one of their prize Ability Users was to suffer harm while on vacation in our country?"

"He can handle himself." Bayloupe cut in, before Accelerator could rise to the subtle mockery. "What do you want, Loec?" She cut right to the chase, addressing the Magister by his first name. Loec Redshrike, head of the most powerful local cabal, Prism, the anointed Magister of Blackpoole. Which meant he was empowered by the local government to be the de-facto warden of the magical community, a combination of policeman, investigator and, if need be, bounty hunter if a Mage or Cabal was found to be violating the Magical Accords. It was his job to keep the various independent Cabals and Cabal Reserve Armies in line, investigate magical lawbreakers, and capture them for punishment or censure.

Unlike Necessarius, the Magisters of England's various provinces and territories did not have a remit or warrant to act outside their particular communities, and certainly not internationally. But within their particular territories they were the voice and the hand of the law, with broad authority. They generally reported directly to the local nobility or local governor, depending on who was actually in charge of magical affairs within an area. It was a position of honor and respect… and also fear and dislike, as Independent Mages and Cabals alike never truly liked having outsiders poking their nose into their business after all. But they were part of living in a civilized magical society, so there was nothing to be done about it.

"Well, initially I wanted to be civil about this, observe the usual social niceties, perhaps indulge in a little small talk, but I can see that holds little interest for you, Bayloupe. You know that this standoffish attitude of yours is one reason why the powers that be keep regarding you and your Cabal with such suspicion, right?" Loec answered with a disarming smile. But his easy attitude did not entirely disguise the guarded glitter in his dark grey eyes, and the liquid tension in his stance. "Let us go inside then, and we can get down to business."

"Who the fuck is this guy?" Accelerator broke his glaring silence to ask Bayloupe, not particularly in an undertone. He kept his crimson eyes on the ostentatious mage, not even bothering to hide his frown of dislike. Anyone who put Bayloupe's hackles up, did not start in a good place on his personal opinion list. Loec ignored Accelerator's rudeness, for the most part, only smirking a little in a way that made most people want to punch the smugness off him.

"This is Magister Loec Redshrike." Bayloupe informed her boyfriend dully, as she put down the kickstand and got off the scooter. Normally she'd pick it up and carry it with her into the yard, but with the cop car right there, it wasn't like it would get stolen if she left it on the curb for a bit. Right now, all her alarm senses were tingling something fierce after all, and she didn't want any distractions. "He's in charge of magical law enforcement for Blackpoole county."

"And is that why he's a smug asshole, or was he just born that way?" Accelerator asked caustically, dismounting the scooter himself, and gathering up his crutch. A part of him wanted to flick his collar switch so he could stand unaided, but he stopped himself from giving in to petty impulse. This Loec guy was already rubbing him the wrong way, but he could tell that this wasn't like the situation with Sharkey from a couple days ago. Going in heavy handed on this guy would only cause more problems than it solved. Kind of like dealing with Anti-Skill back home… while he could and would run roughshod over their damn laws and rules if he had to, it was generally a big hassle later, especially when Yomikawa got on his case, so if he didn't have to start trouble with law enforcement, he generally didn't.

For his part, Loec simply ignored Accelerator's rudeness with lordly disdain, not out of politeness, but like he was trying to prove some kind of point, setting himself above such petty things. He waited for Bayloupe to open the fence gate, again not out of courtesy so much as common sense… it generally wasn't wise to trespass on the sanctum of another Cabal without giving them time to deactivate any subtle wards or protective effects they might have on their property after all. He did smirk at the annoyed look on Accelerator's face though, which did nothing to improve the Number 1's current attitude.

"A little of column A, and a little of column B." Bayloupe responded, not hiding her reply either. As an independent Mage, the leader of a very independent Cabal, naturally she distrusted and disliked Magisters and other magical authority figures pretty much by instinct. And Loec was a smug asshole at the best of times, very proud of his magical capabilities and his positional authority, and not shy about demonstrating either if given a chance.

Scowling, Bayloupe stalked down the walkway towards her front door, just barely keeping her pace slow enough for Accelerator to keep up with her, just barely avoiding slamming the door open, glad to see that neither Floris nor Lancis was home. Loec followed the two of them, his staff providing a dissonant echo to the tapping sounds of Accelerator's cane on the walkway, his duster flapping lightly with each step, his unwelcome presence a stifling intrusion in every sense of the word.

Entering the main room, Bayloupe sat down on the couch, and waved irritably for Loec to take the chair across from her. She did not offer to get him a drink or snack or the like, and Accelerator certainly wasn't in the mood for more than his usual sullen, suspicious stare as he stood behind the couch behind Bayloupe. "So, what the hell do you want, Loec? I hope to Thor's bloody arse this isn't another attempt at recruiting New Light into your Cabal. I told you already, we're independent operators, and we don't care about the power, prestige or opportunities working under the Magister grants."

Loec did not immediately reply, taking his time in settling into his chair, sweeping his hat off and setting it on top of his staff, leaning it against the side of his chair, outwardly as calm as could be as he put himself at his ease. Stretching out his legs, leaning back into the chair, and crossing his arms comfortably across his chest as he kept his cocksure grin on his face, patting his short, bleached blonde hair back into order, straightening his shirt and the amulet around his neck, and otherwise projecting the air of a man who will not be rushed, regardless of the situation.

"Are you sure?" He challenged Bayloupe when he was good and ready, leaning forward slightly and piercing her with his grey eyes. "I'll admit, that's not the purpose of my visit tonight, but since you bring it up…" He paused dramatically. "I urge you to reconsider, Bayloupe. It saddens me to see the New Light Cabal in its current dire straits after all, and I could help you… Prism could help you... so much with regaining the trust of the powers that be. If you become one of our affiliate Cabals, you wouldn't have to worry about working hand to mouth just to scrape by doing vermin repelling wards and other beginners spellwork."

"And my answer is unchanged. I know the benefits, you've explained them often enough, but there's only one thing that New Light values more than money, and that's freedom to be our own people. And that's not something we'll have as your underlings, Loec. How many times am I going to have to reject you on this subject?" Bayloupe answered, in a mixture of tiredness and frustration, her aquamarine eyes steely and cold with her determination.

"I'm asking because I care. You're wasting your great potential doing insignificant jobs, trying to rebuild a reputation that doesn't matter for shit anyway. The good opinions of the local magical community don't mean crap in the face of the official suspicion regarding New Light, can't you see that?" Loec retorted with a frown of his own.

"Oh, I'm not blind to it, but I think maybe you are… you've spent long enough up at the pinnacle of the local society, with your closeness to Count Blackpoole, you've lost sight of how important it is for the little folk to know you can be relied on, even when the job isn't glamorous. New Light isn't just about our individual power and ambition, or even the success of the Cabal as a whole… we exist to HELP people, as well as make our profits. And I won't be told who I can and can't help by government overseers." Bayloupe answered back firmly. She leaned forward and glared. "Now get to the point of why you're here tonight, or I'll throw you out, Magister or not. I still have the right to not being harassed for no reason by local authorities."

"Oh, am I interrupting something? Your date with the… Esper…?" Loec delicately sniffed as he flicked his eyes in Accelerator's direction, as if suddenly scenting something a little rotten. Accelerator's grip tightened a bit on the back of the couch, but he did not grace the mild provocation with any other visible reply, besides perhaps a sharpening of his own glare. "Well, I had hoped you would have seen reason regarding New Light's vulnerabilities, especially in light of certain recent events, but if you insist upon being independent, then I guess I'll have to treat you like an independent, wasteful though that might be."

Loec leaned back again, and the smug, playful expression vanished from his face, replaced with a much colder, grimmer and serious one. "Last night there was an… altercation… down at the Blackpoole docks. A building was partially destroyed, and there were significant casualties suffered by the local members of the criminal underworld known to frequent that location. Quite a few young men lost their lives, some quite messily. And while they weren't exactly upstanding members of Mundane society, murder is still murder. And I have it on reliable authority from some of my informants that you, Bayloupe, were seen approaching the dockyard area shortly before the incident occurred."

Loec paused for dramatic effect, his eyes hooded as he stared Bayloupe down. "The manner in which many of the men were killed is consistent with the use of magic, though my subordinates have not yet managed to fully suss out which particular theories or schools of magic were used to kill all of the men." Loec paused again. "So, naturally, I have a few questions to ask you about your whereabouts and actions on the night in question." He smiled in a coldly unpleasant manner, and took up his staff, setting his hat into his lap and revealing the pulsing blue glowing crystal on the end of the staff. "Shield of Blue." He intoned, as an azure aura began to build up out of nowhere around them, encompassing the room in its subtle field.

"I have just used some truth detection magic, in case you were wondering." Loec informed them. "It will not stop you from lying to me, but if you do, I will know it, I assure you. And naturally, any attempt to refine your own mana or cast a spell from this point until the end of this interview will be interpreted as intent to deceive and impede an official investigation. So, think about your answers very carefully. Lying to a Magister in pursuit of his duties is a crime after all. And New Light can't afford any more of a criminal record right now, can it…?"

Bayloupe sighed in exasperation, to hide her small tremor of unease. "Fine, though since this is now apparently an official interrogation, I hope this will be the end of the matter afterwards."

"That depends on your answers." Loec said firmly. "So, my first question is… were you involved with the incident in question?"

"I was. That is to say, me, not the rest of New Light." Bayloupe clarified. "The underworld group in question has been trying to recruit New Light of late, kind of like a certain overbearing government Cabal I know, and scarcely any less polite about it. They wouldn't take no for an answer either, and eventually, yesterday, resorted to taking something valuable of mine to try and force me to bend to their terms."

"So, you're saying that they were attempting to coerce or blackmail you then?" Loec pressed, his eyes steady on Bayloupe. "And you did not report this to the local authorities… to me and the other members of Prism… why exactly? Dealing with Mundane criminals trying to harass local Cabals is part of my job after all."

"They didn't feel like a threat until they did something stupid and crazy to get my full attention." Bayloupe shrugged carefully. "And at that point, there was no time to involve the authorities… the situation was too fluid, I had to act in the moment. That's not illegal."

"Not technically. It's not smart either, of course. We, the authorities, exist to solve matters like this after all, neatly and tidily, and without strewing body parts and bloody smears across half a block of dockside property." Loec retorted coldly. "But if you determined that you or someone within your immediate personal family was under threat of significant harm, then your actions are technically covered under the self defense clause. Subject to precise review of those circumstances of course."

"Well there you have it. It was self-defense. They weren't going to leave me alone, and they were threatening me and my Cabal with bodily harm. I acted to protect myself and my friends. They pushed the issue, and they ended up dead. They should have known better." Bayloupe answered challengingly. "What kind of Magistrate are you running in this county, that the local Mundane gangs think they can get away with trying to blackmail a Cabal into being their bitches?"

"Such behavior is very uncharacteristic of the local Mundane criminals, in fact. So much so that I cannot help but wonder about the circumstances of this apparent self-defense of yours." Loac studied Bayloupe carefully. "You're no novice Mage after all, you are an established Adept, and well known to the government for your magical abilities. How is it, exactly, that someone of your skill and power, could be pushed into such a corner that the only solution was to commit bloody murder? That doesn't seem right to me… surely you could have used some sort of nonlethal magic, at least?"

"What exactly are you trying to say, Magister?"

"Just that it's strange… convenient, you could say, if one were inclined to be uncharitable… that every other person involved in this little altercation, all of them Mundanes who by all rights should pose no threat to a Mage of your power and experience, all ended up bloodily dead, and unable to be interrogated regarding the altercation." Loec said bluntly.

"Are you insinuating that I killed them for some other reason?" Bayloupe arched an eyebrow, keeping herself outwardly calm, but inwardly she tensed.

"Oh no, I know you fairly well after all, and I personally do not doubt that those men had it coming, and should have known better. But when I submit my report, well, the people that will read it don't know you so personally, and the plain facts of the situation might lend themselves towards some alternate interpretations. Some might think it was a deal gone wrong between you and the mob, for instance. New Light is, after all, known for its subversive actions nowadays. And in that case, what we might be looking at is not self-defense, but rather manslaughter at the very least, and potentially mass-murder. And that is a very serious thing indeed, I'm sure you'll agree."

"Are you threatening me, Loec?" Bayloupe asked icily, feeling Accelerator tense and watchful behind her, and taking quite a bit of comfort from that, even if attacking a Magister, even a total arse like Loec, would just make everything magnitudes worse.

"Far from it. Like I said, I am convinced of your innocence in the matter. But as you know, there are many within the higher ranks of the government who hold uncharitable opinions on New Light. And the facts of the matter as I have them now, give plenty of room for them to be interpreted in ways that make you out to be the bad guy." Loec gave Bayloupe a wan little smile. "If New Light was part of Prism, I could lend some official backup to your statement, but obviously I can't stick my neck out that far for an independent Cabal. I would very much like to protect you, and New Light… but you're making it very hard, Bayloupe."

"They don't need your protection. They have mine." Accelerator spoke up for the first time since they interview had begun, and his voice was colder than ice, and harder than steel. Bayloupe could not see the expression on her boyfriend's face, but even the sanctimonious Loec paused a little bit to lick his lips a moment before answering.

"This is none of your business, Esper. I allowed you to stay as a courtesy to Bayloupe, moral support, that sort of thing, but if you're going to try and derail the interview, I will have to ask you to step outside." Loec said with a hint of sneer.

"Accelerator." Bayloupe cut in before her boyfriend could retort. As heart warming as his words were, they weren't necessary, and antagonizing Loec would just turn his subtle threats into reality. And there was no need for that sort of thing, when she had a trump card in her back pocket, just waiting to be used. "I have this." She declared firmly, to ensure that he settled down. She could feel his discontent, but he did not say more… for now.

"With that out of the way…" Loec very nearly got sent outside the direct way for that, but Accelerator could recognize a deliberate provocation when one was tossed in his face, and so did nothing. "I want to help you, Bayloupe, but I need something more concrete than just your testimony as it currently stands. A gesture of goodwill would have worked… joining Prism, putting yourself under my direct jurisdiction, that would be a statement of character that no true criminal would dare. But if that's off the table, then… well, I don't know. Is there anything else? Anything else at all about that incident that might help corroborate your version of events?"

"There is actually." Bayloupe smiled herself, noting that Loec seemed a bit surprised… clearly he was hoping to put her in enough of a vice so that she had no choice but to accept his protection by joining Prism. But she had an out, an ironclad out at that. "You see, the reason I reacted with such violence to their attempts at blackmailing me was because they wanted me to sign a Blood Oath on the matter, which would have put me and my Cabal completely under their thumbs. Slaves, really. Up until that point, I was happy to try and talk my way out of things, but after they threw that in my face, what choice did I have?"

"A Blood Oath?" Loec arched his eyebrows skeptically. "Are you sure? Those can only be made with government assistance, you know? Falsifying such a document is tantamount to treason. I can't see petty Mundane criminals getting hold of such a thing."

"Oh, I know how hard they are to make, trust me. And I have no idea how they got it, but they did. That's definitely something that needs to be looked at, if you ask me, Magister. And it wasn't just a generic Blood Oath, no, this one was tailored to New Light in specific." Bayloupe smiled ferally, without a hint of humor. "I still have it, actually. I wasn't about to leave something that dangerous just lying around where some other Mundane might stumble on it." She gestured towards her thigh. "I'm going to draw it out now, so don't have a conniption, Magister." She warned him, as she muttered the words under her breath to activate the space warping properties of her shorts pocket, which let her store the document inside without appearing to have anything in there.

Extracting the Blood Oath from the folded space, Bayloupe held it gingerly at the corner with two fingers, and proffered it to Loec. It made her skin crawl even now, looking at it. A magical document designed for the soul purpose of enslaving her and those who were her sisters, to cruel and uncaring masters. It was every Mage's nightmare, that sort of loss of free will, and perhaps all the moreso for female Mages.

Loec took the Blood Oath and stared at it in consternation, studying it carefully but quickly realizing, as Bayloupe had, that it was quite authentic, and very potent. "Well… this changes things." Loec had the grace to admit after several moments of thought, as he held the magic document. "I don't know how this can exist, but it clearly does. And a Blood Oath like this does constitute a clear and obvious threat to your personal sovereignty and freedom of will… self-defense is more than warranted in the face of such a threat. No one can dispute that."

"I should hope not." Bayloupe said caustically. "Someone in the government apparatus has gone off the plot, so I think that's something that needs investigating right quick, so we don't have goddamn Blood Oath's being handed out to mobsters willy nilly, don't you think?"

"Quite so." Loec said soberly, clearly shaken by the implications. He clutched the Blood Oath hard in his hands, knuckles white. "I… well, I guess I'm sorry, Bayloupe. I must admit, I did not realize the scope of the situation."

"Yeah, whatever, Loec. You thought I was vulnerable and you tried to move in on me, and I won't forget that. But this is bigger than your ego and our little personal disagreements. Despite what a lot of people want to believe, I am and always have been a patriot for England, as have the rest of New Light. And if there's someone selling black market Blood Oaths out there, then that NEEDS to be stopped." Bayloupe said savagely.

"I must get going." Loec stood up, putting his hat on and turning towards the door. "As you say, this can't wait." He waved the Blood Oath vaguely in his hand. "Do you mind if I hang onto this? I will need strong evidence to shift the organizational complacence at the higher levels of government…"

"Fucking take it! I hope I never see such a thing again!" Bayloupe snarled vehemently.

"Indeed." Loec acknowledged sincerely, his face sober as he stepped towards the door. Revealing the back of his coat, on which a Shrike, a predatory bird, was picked out in silhouette of white and black crystal beads. He paused at the threshold, and glanced back over his shoulder at Bayloupe. "I imagine you won't like it, but be prepared, the government may call you in for an interview regarding this."

"Fuck the government, and fuck you too, Leoc!" Bayloupe cursed at him, her fingers forming fists against the couch cushion. But by that point, the door was already swinging shut behind the Magister of Blackpoole, and unfortunately not fast enough to hit him on the ass on his way out. "Fucking… Hell…" Bayloupe swore again, shaking with her pent up emotions, though she calmed a bit when she felt Accelerator's hand touch her on the shoulder and neck.

"You sure seem popular with assholes. First that Sharkey guy, now this Loec character…" Accelerator's tone was not, as one might expect, sympathetic, at least on the surface but rather sardonic. "They all seem to want you on their team, and are prepared to play dirty to get you there."

"The curse of being beautiful, talented and independent, I guess." Bayloupe groused, lolling her head back to look at Accelerator, who was looking down at her with his usual cocky grin, something he pulled off better than any other guy she'd ever seen. There was a hard light in the back of his eyes though, and Bayloupe had to chuckle a little. "Aww, are you jealous that I'm getting all this attention? Don't worry, you'll always be my number 1 asshole, Accelerator."

"Hnf. Don't you forget it." Accelerator grunted back, though with a bit more of a grin.

Xxxx

 **Wednesday, very early morning, Bayloupe's Bedroom**

Accelerator's eyes blinked open, his body transitioning from restless sleep into discontent wakefulness in a single heartbeat. He did not move, his breathing barely changed, but inside his head, his brain switched from a frustrated idle into a downright murderous active state. Beside him, lying atop his left arm, Bayloupe's breathing remained deep and even, her right-side horn almost touching his cheek. Both of them were dressed in t shirts and sleeping shorts, as the mood of their date night had been completely ruined by Loec Redshrike's little visit.

Bayloupe had tried to act sexy for him for a bit before bed, but if even he could tell she was faking it, then clearly she didn't have the motivation, and faked intimacy was worse than no intimacy in his eyes. If she wasn't in the mood, forcing herself for his sake was the last thing he wanted. Her authenticity was one of her greatest points after all, one of the things he liked best. Yes, a part of him was perhaps a little disappointed that the fun and games in the shower, and involving her knee socks, hadn't materialized, but he was not so besotted and controlled by his hormones that he would look for that sort of thing when his girlfriend was clearly out of sorts. He was an asshole, sure, and often a jerk, but he wasn't a complete brute.

 _Still, its pretty comfortable…_ A small part of him noted, feeling Bayloupe's warm presence by his side. He hadn't thought he would enjoy sharing his bed, or rather her bed, with anyone, but this was different from the annoyance of PDA's, more intimate, more private, something he could relish without anyone else to see and judge him for it. This gave him a sense of contentment, and was some of the most restful slumber had had known in a long while.

Which was all the more reason to be annoyed that he had snapped out of it, for reasons he was still searching for. His eyes flickered around Bayloupe's room, but in the dark he could barely see anything. His right arm slowly lifted, his right hand moving up to his neck, to cup around the electrode mounted to the side of his neck. He tried to isolate the feeling that had woken him, without relying on his power, hoping that it was nothing, and that he could get back to the enjoyment of sleeping at Bayloupe's side.

 _Under threat… no, I don't feel any hostile intent nearby. Floris, trying to play a prank? No, she's not that stupid, surely. Or she'd better hope she's not._ Accelerator grimaced, as he kept coming up empty with reasons for his wakefulness in the middle of the night. Insomnia was not something he often suffered from. He could wake up at the drop of a pin, if his instincts alerted him to something out of place or a potential threat, but he never woke up during the night otherwise. So that meant something was wrong, something was out of place, he just had to figure out what it was.

"Click." He triggered his electrode, and immediately his brain was flooded with a thousand times as much data as before, and the processing power to handle it. He could feel the flow of bioelectricity in Bayloupe's body, the firing of neurons in her sleeping brain, the subtle charges of her nervous system, and the tensions in her muscles. Nothing was wrong with his girlfriend, she was sleeping deeply and comfortably, with only a little lactic acid buildup from her football exertions of the evening.

Expanding his focus outwards, Accelerator focused on manipulating the vectors of any sounds in the room, carrying them to his ear and magnifying them so he might identify them. He often had used this sort of power in reverse, reflecting any and all soundwaves away from him, in order to drown out annoying background noise when walking around the City. But with his control of the air around him, it was possible to use it to magnify sound as well, as sound was just vibrations felt through the molecules in the air.

 _There…_ He narrowed his eyes as he felt a pulsing vibration, a distant, regular thumping sort of noise, like the backbeat of a fast-paced song. It took him only a few fractions of a second to catalogue the noise and index it against his past memories, and find the most likely origination of that sound. _Helicopter. Approaching at high altitude, slowly descending._ Accelerator frowned, listening as the sound kept growing closer and closer. A mere passing helicopter wouldn't have woken him, they were common enough in Academy City after all.

But this one wasn't passing, it was vectoring towards them, curving down from its high cruising altitude, directly towards Bayloupe's house. The vectors drew lines for him in his head, as clear as a 3d graph on a computer screen, time, distance, speed. There was the tiniest chance that he might still be wrong, that the helicopter might be headed somewhere else, but Accelerator had faith in his Vector reading skills.

"Click." He shut off his electrode, since he might need the power later, and then moved his hand across to touch Bayloupe on the cheek. Just a brush of his fingers, but it was enough to stir her from her slumber. Like him, she barely gave any indication of actually being awake, her body instantly recognizing that it wasn't morning and that he was deliberately waking her for some reason. He did so enjoy being with someone with good professional instincts.

"What is it?" She asked him, her voice low, not a whisper, as those tended to carry in still rooms, but just a low tone.

"Helicopter, approaching and descending. It'll be in the backyard in a few minutes." Accelerator grunted in a more normal volume, as stealth was rarely something he needed to be concerned with.

She sat up, grimacing and rubbing sleep from her eyes with the palm of one hand. "Well, shit…" She groused, to which he grunted in acknowledgement. "It has to be the government, but a helicopter in the middle of the night is… not a good sign. That's not how you call someone in for a friendly interview. Even if the Blood Oath thing is an urgent emergency."

Accelerator sat up as well, pins and needles filling his left arm now that Bayloupe was no longer resting on top of it. A better man, someone like the Hero, might have patted Bayloupe on the shoulder, or taken her reassuringly by the hand, or something of the sort. But even here and now, such gestures were foreign to him, especially in a situation with unknown elements. "We should get dressed." He said, as he crawled, somewhat uncoordinatedly, over Bayloupe to reach the edge of the bed, as he had been lying between her and the wall.

They did so in silence, quickly and efficiently, like soldiers preparing for a mission, not a boyfriend and girlfriend sharing a bedroom, she into her New Light uniform, he into one of his sets of white and black shirts and grey pants. In this case the pattern on the shirt was of a series of overlapping spheres, like a solar eclipse glimpsed in a pair of mirrors facing each other, in a band from right shoulder to left hip. By then, the muffled thumping of the helicopter's rotors was audible to them both, growing louder and louder as the aircraft descended towards the clear ground to the rear of Bayloupe's house. If there had been any close neighbors, they doubtless would have been awoken as well, but of course there weren't.

By the time the helicopter landed in the back yard, Accelerator and Bayloupe were both fully dressed and awake, and they stood outside the back door, her with her arms crossed over her chest and a beady glare in her eyes, and him leaning on his cane with burning anger glowing in his eyes. He never liked having his sleep interrupted, and especially so during a vacation. Being pulled out of his bed for business with the City through his work at GROUP was bullshit enough, being pulled out of Bayloupe's bed for business regarding England's fucking government and their screwups was almost more than he could tolerate!

Things did not get better when the Helicopter came in for its final approach, as the occupants of the craft revealed themselves, as a squad of men wearing archaic looking metal plate armor jumped down from the side skids and open doors of the helicopter, long swords sheathed at their sides, their faces concealed behind full helms. Accelerator had seen their like before, both as allies and as foes. The Knights of England, the personal guards of the Royal family. Their armor and weaponry was enchanted, and the knights themselves empowered with something called Telesma by the Queen herself, lending them superhuman vigor and strength.

Not that it meant anything arrayed against his own power, but they were an intimidating sight for most people anyway. Accelerator noted that Bayloupe's posture had changed from an irritated one to a wary one upon sighting the knights, her folded arms less a sign of her anger at this early morning bullshit and more of a defensive one. The knights spread out around the landing helicopter, none of them approaching Bayloupe and him directly, but positioning themselves so that they could cut off any lines of retreat, establishing an obvious security perimeter. When the helicopter itself landed, a final figure jumped out of the passenger compartment, his black robes and long red hair blowing in the downdraft from the chopper's rotor blades.

"Oh, shit." Bayloupe mumbled under her breath, almost lost in the background noise, as even more tension entered her frame. "A witch hunter from Necessarius. And a goon squad of knights in full armor. Way to make a girl feel wanted… in all the wrong ways." She commented, still under her breath, but clearly audible to him regardless.

As the red haired, black robed Mage got nearer, Accelerator easily and immediately recognized him, as the annoying Fire mage that claimed not to be one of the Hero's friends, despite helping him and being involved with his adventures all the time. The expression on his face was a grim one, not that Accelerator could recall the bastard ever really smiling a lot in all the times he'd seen him in the past. But he clearly wasn't any more happy to be there than they were to have him be there. Tough shit.

"Bayloupe of New Light." Stiyl said, a bit stilted and formal, as his eyes flicked back and forth between her and Accelerator. "We'd like you to come with us."

"Why?" Accelerator cut in before Bayloupe could say anything, his tone cold and hard, cutting through the thwop of the rotors.

"This is Magic side business, Esper. It doesn't concern you." Stiyl replied, still a bit stiffly, though perhaps he could not be blamed. More than anyone else other than Bayloupe currently present, he knew what Accelerator was capable of if he got riled up. And Stiyl clearly felt it likely that Accelerator was going to get riled up.

"I've been hearing that a lot lately. Didn't care for it then, don't care for it now." Accelerator took a step forward towards Stiyl, casually ignoring the way several of the Knights put hand to sword hilt as he did so. They were inconsequential after all. "But the way I see it, if it concerns her, it concerns me." Accelerator moved just slightly, to stand in front of Bayloupe.

"Accelerator…" She started to say.

"No. This time, you shut up." He growled over his shoulder at her. "Last time, I stepped aside, but this… this is bullshit, and I'm not standing for it. They want to come ask you questions, they can do that, whatever, but sending a fucking helicopter goon squad in the middle of the fucking night? Like some kind of fucking black ops rendition?" Accelerator snarled, raising one hand to the side of his neck. "Now, what the fuck is this about? Someone better start explaining things…"

"It's a matter of national security." Stiyl looked like he very badly wanted to take out a cigarette to calm his nerves right then. "This is coming from the highest levels of the government. We need to talk to her, immediately."

"And to talk with her, you have to take her away under armed guard?" Accelerator barked a joyless laugh of contempt. "Don't fuck with me, mage. Just cause you're the hero's friend, doesn't mean you get carte blanch to piss me off without repercussions…"

"I'm no friend of the Imagine Breaker." Stiyl retorted, sounding offended by the idea. "But if it helps, I wasn't told to place her under arrest. My orders are to bring her back to Buckingham palace for an interview, and at the earliest possible time. The knights are here because there is some concern that her life might be in danger, that's all."

"Yeah, I'm sure they sent Necessarius's best Witch Hunter and a squad of Knights out in a helicopter just to make me feel safe." Bayloupe cut in sarcastically, moving up to stand at Accelerator's side.

"Look, I didn't volunteer for this." Stiyl pointed out with a sigh of exasperation. "But I have my orders all the same." He looked over at Accelerator, and visibly steeled himself. "You may not want to hear it, Accelerator, but this is internal politics of England as a nation, not to mention magical politics. Academy City won't thank you for sticking your nose into this."

"The City can go fuck itself too." Accelerator said arrogantly, making Stiyl wince.

Bayloupe put her hand on his shoulder and gave him a weak smile. "I don't like it either, but they aren't going to go away without a fight. And while I know you can beat them all without a sweat, it wouldn't solve anything. I may not be under arrest now, but if we beat up my… escorts… then I certainly will be next time. I don't like this one little bit, but if the royal family calls, I guess I'm at their disposal. Let's get this over with."

"I'm glad you decided to be reasonable." Stiyl said, and gestured for Bayloupe to proceed to the helicopter. He turned back to Accelerator. "This shouldn't take more than a couple hours." He continued, in an attempt at being reassuring.

"Hah." Accelerator's grunt of amusement, was anything but amused. "I don't fucking think so. She's not going anywhere without me."

"Look, I understand your attachment…" Stiyl said, clenching his teeth, and no doubt his buttocks as well, as he faced Accelerator. "But this doesn't involve you. You're not authorized to come along. My orders are specific, just to bring her."

"Oh, is that so? Well, I'm authorizing myself to come along, just tell that to whoever's giving you orders." Accelerator said in soft, dangerous tones. "That helicopter isn't taking off without me on it. If it tries, I'll fucking fly after it and throw you all out to find your way to the ground on your own."

"Fine." Stiyl sighed in exasperation. "But don't come complaining to me when your visitor's visa gets revoked and they send you home afterwards."

"I'm Accelerator. Nobody sends me anywhere I don't want to go."


	8. Shocking Revelations

**Author Note:** I am a bit worried about my portrayals of the Queen and Princesses, as I have never really seen them outside of ACIP, and this situation is much different from the events of that story. I hope it doesn't bother people. Events are definitely heating up this chapter in terms of plot though.

Xxxx

 **Wednesday, Early Morning, approaching Buckingham Palace airspace**

The flight had passed in near total silence, except for the "thwoppa-thwoppa" of the helicopter's blades biting through the chill early morning air, as they ascended from the back yard of Bayloupe's house and made a beeline towards London. They made good speed, as this was no civilian craft, but rather one sourced from England's military, its interior bare metal and canvas sling seats, designed for speed, maneuverability and endurance rather than comfort. Stiyl Magnus, the red headed Witch Hunter of Necessarius, sat with his back to the cockpit space, a cigarette clamped between his lips with a dull ember at the tip glowing with sullen heat. To either side of him were ranged the Knights of the "escort" squad he had been provided, their armor clacking lightly against each other in the occasional air turbulence.

Across from Stiyl sat Bayloupe of New Light, and Accelerator of Academy City. Stiyl was passingly familiar with them both, mostly by association with others, but he'd been given a full dossier on Bayloupe prior to being sent to collect her for questioning. She was a young woman, not a girl like some female mages he had been sent to apprehend, or even eliminate, in the past… age being no bar to ability or threat level when it came to Magicians, as Stiyl himself embodied, despite how he looked. Relatively full figured, healthy, fit, with a pleasing aesthetic if you went in for the sporty, bold and self-confident sort of girl… which wasn't really Stiyl's cup of tea, he liked academic girls. Platinum silver hair, turquoise eyes, and of course the distinctive head accessory of her Dragon's Horns, a magical artifact of no small power.

In truth the file on Bayloupe, and the other members of her New Light cabal, was fairly thin and lackluster, as for the longest time they had been considered nothing more than a Cabal Reserve Army… magical hobbyists and amateurs, rather than a true Magic Cabal. A clever ruse that had fooled both the Church and the Government's magical surveillance groups for many years. An oversight that was being corrected, which meant a lot more work for Necessarius, and Stiyl. Especially now that Kanzaki was… MIA. Stiyl sucked in a breath of calming smoke, feeling the heat fill his lungs as the tip of his cig glowed brighter and hotter with his irritation. _This is a distraction I can ill afford…_ He thought with carefully concealed discontent.

Though he had the title of Witch Hunter, and it was his primary duty to hunt down and either capture or slay rogue magicians, regardless of where in the world they might be, at home or abroad, that did not necessarily mean Stiyl always enjoyed his job. Especially when politics started to interfere with it. Ideally, he'd be back in Academy City, watching over Index to make sure that damn Imagine Breaker didn't put her in too much danger, while also investigating Eve, and even some of the more suspicious figures within Academy City, whom he suspected of having something to do with Kanzaki's extended absence. That was where he wanted to be. That was where he would be able to do the most good.

Instead he was here, flying through the night at an unholy hour of the morning, escorting an admittedly dangerous Magician to an interrogation, under a royal edict. Well, not an official edict, but the orders for this mission came from within the Royal household, so that was effectively the same thing. Of course, as an agent of the Church, technically speaking Stiyl didn't take orders from the Royal family, even if he was a loyal Englishman in his very rare downtime. But after the events of Carissa's botched Rebellion, there had been a lot more cooperation between the Royals, the Knights and the Church, as all three major magical factions combined their efforts and shared… some… of their intel, in order to prevent outside forces from suspecting how damaged and weakened England had been by the failed coup.

Stiyl was sure that the Archbishop, damn that manipulative bitch, would have extracted a favor or two in exchange for cutting orders to send him out in support of the Knight squad to collect Bayloupe. Quid pro quo was how things worked at that level of power and authority after all. And he could not deny the psychological effectiveness of the tactic… any member of Necessarius was a veritable bogeyman to the independent Mages of England, and Stiyl especially so, as his reputation for hunting witches was well earned. And while he was not actually quite as brutal and merciless as his reputation hyped him out to be… he had a heart, even if it was a scarred and battered one at times… he only had so much empathy in him, and had to ration it carefully to avoid getting burned out by his duties.

So, if Bayloupe was terrified by his presence, then, well, that was too bad for her. He felt a little bad, but then again, she had every reason to be worried. Mages were not called to Buckingham Palace in the dead of night by express helicopter, escorted by Knights, and a Witch Hunter, for small, inconsequential matters. And his orders had been quite clear… she was to be collected, not invited, not requested, but collected… against her will if need be. Generally speaking, when his orders included language like that, it was a good bet that the Mage in question might never be seen again.

To her credit, the Magus of New Light showed little of her trepidation outwardly, aside from a slight sheen of sweat on her brow, and a certain tension and stiffness in her posture as she sat ramrod straight in her canvas chair. Her eyes were mostly shut, though he doubted she was asleep, more likely she was turning things over in her head, trying to figure out what was going on, and trying to keep control of herself. Stiyl wished her luck with that… he himself did not know why she was being brought in, merely that it was imperative that she be brought.

He shifted his sullen gaze away from the Mage, who, while certainly an enigma at the moment, was not what was giving him a vague sense of heartburn, though of course he absolutely did not show any hint of his own trepidation through long experience and training. It was the young man, probably a couple years older than Stiyl's chronological age, who sat at Bayloupe's side, hunched a bit forward, with his hands clenched around the shaft and grip of a a technologically advanced walking cane. Thin and weedy of build, his weak physicality did little to dampen the miasmic cloud of grim fury that clung to the boy, his crimson eyes glaring through his lank white bangs with the furnace heat of hell itself.

Accelerator. The Number 1 Ability User of Academy City. The Master of Vectors. Acqua-Breaker. Cainslayer. Potentially the strongest mortal being on the planet, maybe the strongest mortal being in history. His presence was like that of a caged beast, weighting the air with explosive potential for violence and death. Stiyl could tell that more than a little of the clacking and clanking armor noises from the Knights, came not from shifting in turbulence, but from the fact that many of them were quite literally shaking inside their armor with their own disquiet. Being near Accelerator was intimidating enough when he wasn't pissed, and right now he was clearly furious… and his brooding silence made that anger seem all the more potent and immediate, a volcano waiting to erupt with the force of a million nuclear bombs!

Stiyl had worked with Accelerator before, peripherally mostly, though they had coordinated a bit during the 2nd Princess's rebellion. He had a great and healthy respect for the Esper. Only a fool wouldn't, and Stiyl was no fool. But that wasn't to say that they were friends, not even of the sort that Kamijou imagined himself to be to Stiyl. They were acquaintances, temporary allies in the past, nothing more. If Accelerator decided to lash out, their prior history would be no shield at all.

Accelerator's presence in the helicopter was not according to plan, but Stiyl wasn't about to put his own neck on the line to keep the Esper out of Magic Side business. He'd tried that many times before with Kamijou's various friends and it never worked, so he had just given up on trying to save them from their own curiosity. But if anyone besides Imagine Breaker from Academy City could handle getting tangled up with the highest circles of Magic, it was probably Accelerator. And Stiyl had no illusions about his own ability to forcefully prevent Accelerator from coming along, and neither did the Knights. Though once they landed at the palace, things might get a little interesting, as the palace guards were not fond of unauthorized guests, especially in the wake of the rebellion.

But Stiyl's orders were just to bring Bayloupe to the Palace, by whatever means necessary, which thankfully this time had been simple words rather than flame magic and blood. Once she was delivered, his job was done, and he would be vacating the area… just to be prudent. Not to mention getting back to his real work, and maybe even catching a little sleep now and then… Mages were active at all hours, but even so, this was early for him. He was still a growing boy, in mind anyway, and needed rest from time to time.

A change in the pitch and tone of the helicopter's rotor alerted them all to its slow descent from cruising altitude. They had reached the London outskirts and were only minutes away from the Palace now. Stiyl watched Bayloupe open her eyes and take a deep breath, before she turned aside slightly to regard Accelerator. Stiyl could see the warmth in her eyes, feel her regard for the albino boy at her side, and deep down inside his heart twinged a little with jealousy. Though as a priest he was sworn to the Church in every way that mattered, the teenage boy in him was still wishful about receiving such regard from a girl of his own fancy… not that it was likely to be, given she had her eye on someone else, the least suitable person of all!

The aura of murderous rage that had built up around Accelerator receded slightly as he glanced aside at Bayloupe, giving the Knights a little more room to breathe, even though the sense of threat did not disappear in the slightest. Butterflies in Stiyl stomach accompanied their rapid descent into the palace grounds, light suddenly blooming all around them as they landed on one of the lawns, away from the public sectors of the palace, which were shut down for the night anyway. Attendants from the Coldstream Guards Regiment, part of the palace security forces, stationed by the landing area hustled forward, their ceremonial red coats flapping in the downdraft, tall, fuzzy black shakoes on their heads firmly buttoned under their chins against the wind.

They opened the door of the helicopter, and Stiyl was not shy about being the first out, ducking slightly as his robes and hair billowed in the wind from the rotors still beating overhead. His cigarette refused to blow out despite the air turbulence, its tip heated by his own flame magic, as he stepped aside. The sergeant major of the Coldstream Guards detachment saluted him, a courtesy that Stiyl returned with a slight nod of his head, before he turned and started heading across the lawn, a dark shape quickly blending into the night. He wished them luck with their duties… they were going to need it!

Xxxx

Accelelerator watched the red-haired Priest get out of the helicopter and waste no time in heading away on business of his own, clearly eager to wash his hands of this particular duty. He would have smirked with self-satisfaction, at his ability to unnerve the other boy, were this a more pleasant situation. But Accelerator was not feeling much like a grin right now, not even a sardonic smirk. Bayloupe's tension was skyrocketing, the first visible signs of her trepidation making themselves known as she hesitated in her seat, staring out at the red frocked guards with their black hats and modern firearms, mixed with more metal armored knights with swords and some shields. Quite a reception committee for a single Mage.

The Knights in the helicopter with them clearly wanted to chivvy Bayloupe along, but none of them was willing to leave his seat, much less speak out loud, until Accelerator had indicated what his own desire was. He could smell their terror sweat from inside their armor, which proved that they were smart men at least. But it did little to improve his mood. Though he knew he was a terrifying motherfucker, probably the scariest alive, in recent times he had adopted a more placid reputation, unless provoked. He didn't start trouble, most of the time, he just finished it when it came to him. He didn't attack people, but when attacked, he crushed them like bugs.

 _So, the only reason for them to be this fucking scared of me right now, is because they think I'm not going to like what's going on here tonight._ Accelerator decided, which definitely did not improve his mood. _And if they think that, they I definitely think I WON'T like it._ He glanced over at Bayloupe, watching her gather her nerve, and his frown only grew. He could hear the gritting of teeth of some of the Knights that could see the expression on his face. He did not like to see her like this. She was his friend… his girlfriend… and while Accelerator was still coming to terms with that and all its implications for him and for her, he knew beyond any shadow of doubt that no friend of his, least of all his girlfriend, should ever need to be afraid of anything… not while under his protection, in his very presence!

"Let's fucking get this over with." Accelerator grunted irritably, not exactly words of encouragement, but he wasn't good with that sort of thing anyway. He forced himself up to a hunched over position, and before Bayloupe could say anything, or even reach out to him, he stepped out the door of the helicopter without looking back. _Life sucks, but you have to face it anyway. I know I wouldn't want your pity in this situation if it was reversed. You have plenty of strength. Show it to them!_ Accelerator thought to himself, though not without a slight heartache at his inability to be properly supportive of her in her time of need. Tough love was still love, but that didn't mean it was always the best fit for a situation.

Glaring venomously at one of the red frocked soldiers who had come forward and offered a hand to help him down from the helicopter in acknowledgement of his apparent infirmity, Accelerator ignored the now hastily retreating, white faced soldier as he stood on the lawn. His presence was like a reverse magnet, pushing everyone and everything away from him, the squad of soldiers and knights that had been trotting up to take custody of Bayloupe after the priest left, slamming to a halt like they had hit an invisible wall. An invisible wall made of his scorn and displeasure.

"I'll try not to take too long. I know how much you love your beauty sleep." Bayloupe said, with barely a quaver in her voice, as she alighted on the ground next to him. Accelerator glanced briefly up at her, seeing that her face was cold and set, but when she noted his regard, there was the briefest of smiles there. The sour fire burning in his heart dimmed somewhat at the knowledge of her gratitude. Maybe he wasn't handling this like the best boyfriend in the world. But damn it all, he was trying in his own way… and she knew it. And that was enough, for now.

"Hn." Accelerator grunted slightly in acknowledgement, as he watched one of the soldiers, an older man with the aura of seniority about him, step forward to reach out towards Bayloupe. Clearly intending to take her by the arm, so as to facilitate "escorting" her inside. He sharpened the intensity of his gaze, wielding his ire like a weapon, and the man gulped, snatching his hand back like it was about to catch fire. To his credit though, he did not retreat entirely.

"Come this way, miss." The soldier managed to say after chewing on his words for a bit, beckoning towards the nearby paved walkway that would take them to the closest palace building. Buckingham Palace was a large estate, with several outer structures as well as the main palace itself, used for various purposes, all sealed off from the rest of the city by high walls and guarded gates. They were in the midst of one of the largest and most populous cities of the world, but it was as quiet and private as if they were in the countryside.

One of the new knights held up his hand in a gesture of restriction. "First we need to conduct a security check." He turned his helmeted gaze upon Bayloupe. "Please declare and divest yourself of all items which could be used as weapons. If you attempt to smuggle something inside, we will find it, and will react with appropriate levels of force."

"Am I under arrest or something?" Bayloupe asked in a hard voice. "Because if I am, I'd appreciate it if someone just said so, rather than switching back and forth between politeness and tough talk. I'd also appreciate someone telling me WHY I'm under arrest, or why I'm here at all? If people need to talk to me, I have a phone. Or regular business hours if they must see me in person."

"This is no laughing matter, miss. You're in a LOT of trouble." The older soldier said with a scowl. "You may not officially be under arrest as far as I know, but the request to bring you here came straight from the office of the First Princess, and countersigned by the Queen herself. I don't know what it is you have done, or may have done, or are suspected of doing, and I don't want to know either. But faffing around with us isn't going to help your situation any, I can promise you that."

The soldier turned his hard gaze upon Accelerator, and after a moment to wet his lips, he went on. "And you! I don't know who you the hell you are, or why the hell you're here at all. My orders explicitly mentioned only one person of interest being delivered tonight. Who authorized you to be here?"

"If you don't know who I am, then you don't deserve to know who I am." Accelerator replied with an arrogant sneer. "And my authority stems from one person and one person only. My-fucking-self."

"A smart-ass, huh?" The soldier bristled, one hand moving towards the pistols holstered at his hip, as his fellow frock coated guardsmen tensed, readying themselves for action.

"The smartest-ass." Bayloupe commented, sotto voce, just barely loud enough for Accelerator to hear her, and turn his sneer into a bit of a smirk. Things could have gotten fairly unpleasant then, for the Coldstream Guards, if not for the near frantic intervention of the senior Knight, who rushed forward with his armor clanking.

"He's a personal friend of the Queen!" he half shouted, clearly read in on what Accelerator could do… maybe he'd even been defeated by him in the past, during the rebellion. "I will personally vouch for his presence tonight. England owes him a debt of gratitude. Our doors are always open to Accelerator of Academy City."

"Even if they weren't, I'd just smash through the fucking walls." Accelerator snorted in disdain. "Enough pissing around the bush. Let's get this fucking over with." He started to walk towards the indicated building.

"Stop! We need to confiscate her weapons before we can proceed!" The knight declared, more like begged. "We cannot allow an armed person of interest in an ongoing investigation, access to the secure sectors of the palace!"

"I don't fucking care what you can allow. You call me here, in the middle of the fucking night, out of a warm fucking bed, for vague fucking reasons, and now you want to get handsy with my gir… my friend? Touch her, and you touch me. And I don't like to be fucking touched." Accelerator retorted with a snarl. "Either we go inside as we fucking are, or I pick her up and fly us home right the fuck now. Please, choose option 2 for me."

"Well, in point of fact, we DIDN'T call YOU here…" The Coldstream Guards sergeant started to say.

"Fine!" the Knight-Captain cut in over him, with a despairing groan. "Knight Leader is going to roast my bollocks for breakfast, but fine!"

"Are you fucking whacked!?" The Guard sergeant exclaimed, astonished and dismayed at this breach of security protocol.

"I'm fucking interested in living long enough to wish I wasn't in morning when Knight Leader grills me like hash-browns." The Knight-Captain growled back. "He is a personal friend of the Queen. Our hands are tied. If he vouches for her, then it is as if the Queen herself vouched for her."

"Well, now that that's cleared up, let's fucking get on with it." Accelerator rasped, as he offered his arm to Bayloupe. Not out of chivalry's sake, but because he enjoyed a chance to put the boot in on a pompous ass who couldn't do anything about it. They took their time, strolling across the lawn like they were on a late-night date rather than being escorted towards the palace basements for an interview. And with the Guards and Knights browbeaten into humiliated submission, progress was swift, for a time.

Another snag presented itself however, when they entered the basement levels of the building. Down here, the décor was a little more spartan than that on the aboveground levels. Still rich and tasteful, as befitted the palace of the Queen of England, but a trifle more functional, with less ostentation and gilt. The Coldstream Guards had peeled off after entering the building, their main focus the external security of the Palace grounds, while the Knights took over security once inside the halls and walls. The Guard sergeant gave Accelerator and Bayloupe a bit of an evil eye as he walked away, surely to remember being humiliated in front of his squad by their running roughshod over the security protocols. But he was just a soldier after all, and Accelerator paid no heed to the man's rancor.

The snag took the form of two more knights, their platemail more ostentatious and ceremonial than their fellows, with gold and silver inlays on some of the plates, and rich tabards of royal purple worn over their breastplates. They had swords belted at their waists, and each clutched a long hafted, heavy bladed halberd, which faintly glimmered with the glow of powerful magical enchantments. All of the knight's gear was enchanted in some way or another of course, but these halberds were only issued to those directly guarding Royalty, as their destructive power was considerable, enough to slice a main battle tank in half with a single blow. The two knights were standing vigil outside a doorway, stiffly at attention, like two metallic statues almost.

As Accelerator and Bayloupe approached, trailed by the fretting Knight-Captain and his squad of regular knights, the two Knight-Guardians moved with shocking suddenness, and crossed their polearms in front of the door, barring their forward progress. The sound of clashing metal drew attention from inside the room, and a door opened to reveal a man with a weaselish cast to his features, with short cropped dark hair and sallow skin, his sharp, beady eyes behind glasses. He wore a suit and tie, and looked like a bureaucrat of some stripe, or maybe a lawyer. His eyes passed over Bayloupe and onto Accelerator, lingering only a moment before moving on to the Knights and then back to Bayloupe. "Bring her in." He ordered curtly to the Knight-Guardians. "Her companion can wait in the hall. He is not authorized for this. Expressly, by word of the 1st Princess."

"I'm getting real fucking tired of people saying that tonight." Accelerator growled in reply.

"Just let it be." Bayloupe sighed with her own exasperation. "It's fine, I'll be ok. Thanks for coming this far with me, I can take it from here." She continued, with a warm smile for his benefit, as she laid a hand on his shoulder. "I'll go find out what the 1st Princess wants, get this all straightened out, and then we can go home. We can sleep in late." Squaring her shoulders, Bayloupe strode forward, the Knight-Guardian's moving their halberds out of the way just a moment before she would have walked into their crossed blades, and followed the rodentine man into the room, as the blades crossed behind her back, dividing her off from Accelerator, symbolically if in no other way.

Xxxx

Bayloupe did her best not to attach too much emotional weight to the sound of the door closing and locking behind her. It was hard though. This whole situation was completely fucked up, and a sensation of existential dread was seeping through the cracks of her self-control. She'd never expected to get a warm welcome at the Palace, not after the parts she and New Light had played in Carissa's rebellion, but surely if they were calling her in to talk about the Blood Oath, they would at least be minimally polite about it? She got the feeling that if Accelerator hadn't been with her, she'd have entered this meeting in chains, given how everyone was acting.

She didn't have long to dwell on her dread however, as right there in front of her, across the small, relatively bare room, was the first Princess herself, Rimea. Clad in one of her usual severe dresses which clung tightly to her body and legs, in a dark, rich blue hue, the heir apparent of Great Britain was standing with her back to Bayloupe, perusing some documents on a small side table against that wall. They were underground, so there was no window, only fluorescent light strips in the ceiling. There was a heavy wooden table in the middle of the room, with a single sturdy chair placed by it, which the rodentine man directed Bayloupe to sit in, before going over to whisper something in Rimea's ear.

Doing her best to disguise her trepidation, Bayloupe took a seat. It was conceding the psychological advantage of the meeting, allowing Rimea and her assistant to stand tall, making Bayloupe look up at them, but there was nothing to be done about it. She was literally on the Princess's home turf after all, and they were in no way equal. A small part of Bayloupe was honored just to be in the presence of a member of the Royal family at all, despite their rocky history. She did not know the first princess well, as she was a somewhat secluded figure in the public eye, unlike Carissa or Villian. Though in that manner of speaking, she didn't know any of them well, and had known Carissa less well than she'd thought, Bayloupe reflected bitterly.

She'd only met the second Princess once in person, in secret during a visit to Bayloupe's native Scotland. It had come after several weeks of back and forth negotiations with a shadowy client that had wanted to hire New Light to search for a rare magical treasure located somewhere within the British Isles. That hadn't been much to go on, as England had a lot of old ruins and potential lost artefacts, but the client had been willing to pay quite a lot. Bayloupe had insisted upon meeting the client regardless, because a contract like that was worth being absolutely sure on, as it could have been the thing to get her and her little sisters out of the Magic life for good if they made good on it.

Carissa had been… every bit as impressive in person as Bayloupe had imagined she would be. Dynamic, forceful, brilliant, powerful… she was everything that Bayloupe admired in a woman, and she could admit she had been more than a little star struck at the time. When Carissa told her what she was looking for, and why, and what it would mean for all of England if she were to get it… and end to its moral and politic decay, a return to global pre-eminence and respect… Bayloupe could not agree to do it fast enough. It was everything she'd ever wanted for her people, her country, power and pride and independence, and if she could have some part in that, much less a critical part… hell, she'd have done the job for free if Carissa had asked it of her!

But in the end, it had been too good to be true after all. The down payment on the job had been enough to give them the freedom to work more or less unimpeded by other jobs, aside from that little situation in Russia, and the final payout would have been enough to set them up comfortably for life, without needing to do dangerous magic work ever again unless they wanted to. For a group of young female magicians who were sometimes just barely scraping by as an independent Cabal, it was a dream come true, better than winning the lottery… something Mages weren't allowed to do, anyway. It meant she'd never have to prostitute herself for food and living money during slow work seasons again, amongst other things!

But they'd never seen that final payment, and never would. Even if Carissa's coup hadn't failed, Bayloupe and the rest of New Light would have been too dead to cash their check! The pain of that betrayal still gnawed at Bayloupe, day and night, as she wondered in what way she had failed the Princess she had so adored and idolized. New Light had done everything right as far as she could tell. They had found the greatest treasure in English history, Curtana Original, the sword that decided the rulership of the entire nation! A literally priceless artefact! And instead of keeping it, or selling it to the highest bidder, or even handing it off to the Crown… they had kept it secret, and sent it to Carissa, at great risk to themselves, including being captured by Church forces in the process! Because they were patriots, who loved their country and the 2nd Princess's vision for it.

But no sooner had the Princess received her prize than she turned on the people who had made it possible. Knights armed with Robin Hood bows had attempted to kill Lessar… and very nearly succeeded, if not for chance and the help of Touma Kamijou. Bayloupe had been knocked out by Accelerator, and Floris captured by Jason Kagere, and they had both expected torture and summary execution at the Church's hands, which as proud partisans they could have accepted. Only Lancis had remained free, as the out of town relay person. But while she was not afraid to die for her country, and for the Princess's cause, being stabbed in the back by her was different. Bayloupe had given Carissa everything she could ask for, including loyalty unto expected death, and to be rewarded for that with assassination attempts… it hurt! It hurt so deep inside that Bayloupe was still sometimes finding out just how bad it had wounded her…

"Do you know why you have been called here tonight?" Rimea's cold, pragmatic voice cut through the silence of recollection that Bayloupe had descended into, causing her to startle a bit as she looked up. The first princess had turned around, her severe, stone cold face staring at Bayloupe through her monocle. Her intelligent blue eyes were like chips of ice, her face framed by her dark black hair that fell straight to her shoulders. She was beautiful but harsh, like an iceberg or a wind honed mountain crag.

"I… do not, your Highness." Bayloupe said slowly and carefully, refusing to look away from Rimea's cold eyes. She didn't know what the Princess was thinking or feeling, but she had her own pride, and she wasn't going to be the first to look away. "I presume it has something to do with the matter of the contraband Blood Oath I discovered and reported though."

"You presume." Rimea's eye narrowed with clear displeasure. "You have a lot of gall, trying to play innocent, girl. I would have thought, given my Mother's prior stay of mercy regarding you and your group, you would have done your best to stay off the radar, keep your heads down… but it seems like your insurgency runs deeper than we prior suspected."

"My… fucking WHAT!?" Bayloupe was flabbergasted at such a statement. "I mean, fucking WHAT?! High…your Highness, what are you talking about!?"

"This is Crown Inquisitor Radcliff." Rimea indicated the weaselish man at her side, who was studying Bayloupe like she was something he'd found on his shoe after walking through a sewer. "He is responsible for, amongst other things, verifying the integrity of various magical bonds and oaths throughout the Isles. He administers the Blood Oaths for the country, and he takes his job very seriously."

"It was a good try, Witch." Radcliff spoke up, his tone thin but razor sharp as he kept looking at Bayloupe with disgust. "The best I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot. Your reputation as an artificer and magic tool creator is warranted. It's too bad you have such a treasonous heart… you could have gone far as one of our allies."

"T-treasonous!?" Bayloupe spluttered. Well, it was technically true… she had aided in a conspiracy to overthrow the then rightful government of the nation. But they weren't speaking about the past…

"Cease your attempts at acting shocked. They'll do you no favors here." Rimea took up the conversation again. "Your efforts may have fooled the Magister of County Blackpoole, but I can assure you, your forgery was detected quite quickly once the document was handed over to Radcliff's department." Rimea pinned Bayloupe to her chair with the force of her gaze alone. "With the evidence in hand of your attempt at undermining the very rule of law of the Crown, your guilt as a traitor is now twice confirmed. First your attempt at armed rebellion and assassination of the Royal family, and now this… forging a Blood Oath." Rimea shook her head sadly. "You took us for fools, but it was your downfall."

"What!? NO!? I never… I didn't FORGE a Blood Oath! I would never! That's insanity! Everyone knows its impossible to forge one of those things, or else it would have been done already!" Bayloupe could not believe her ears, her heart thudding in her chest in rising panic. This couldn't be real! This made no sense at all! "For fuck's sake, I turned it in to the Magister myself! Why would I do that if I was trying to forge the system!? And why would I make a fake Blood Oath that was all about selling myself and my Cabal into fucking slavery to the mob!?"

"A clever attempt at throwing off suspicion and providing an alibi for your massacre in the Blackpoole docks, I grant you. But a little too clever I'm afraid." Radcliff replied with a sniff of disdain. "Your forgery was visually perfect, and you even got all the seals and rune codes right. It was such a great replica, that as soon as I handled it myself, I knew it could not be real. It is not something we let be known publicly of course, but all Blood Oath's are a little flawed. As part of their creation, you cannot restart or halt the process once it begins… that means any grammatical or textual errors made while in creation of the Oath, remain as part of the finished product. Even something as small as unevenness in the spacing of the words and letters. But your Blood Oath was visually perfect. Impeccable. Like it was typed on a computer and printed out. We'll have to find out how you did that. We're always trying to improve our process…"

"You're telling me that because there's no fucking spelling errors or ink blots or misplaced words that it's a forgery, and that I'm the culprit!? That's so fucking weak!" Bayloupe snarled furiously. "Even if the Blood Oath itself is a fake… I guess it could be, I'm no expert in them… that doesn't mean I made it! I turned it in because I was concerned that someone was selling them to the mob under the table! They targeted me and my Cabal, my family, and yes, I killed them for it… but who wouldn't, when threatened with a Blood Oath!? That was legitimate self-defense! Magister Redshrike even said so!"

"The Magister of Blackpoole naturally said that to avoid raising your suspicions." Rimea answered curtly. "I won't argue as to the worth of the lives you ended that night… they were criminal scum without doubt. But they were English citizens regardless, and their blood is on your hands, traitor. I don't know what dispute or deal you had with those criminals, nor do I care why it went wrong and you decided to end their lives. If you had simply done away with them, we would probably have looked the other way… scum killing scum is nothing new to this country. But you tried to justify it. You sought legitimacy for your actions, for whatever reason, and now it has led to your subversion being exposed. You got too ambitious, too full of yourself. Finding Curtana Original must have gone to your head."

"That's a lie! A fucking LIE!" Bayloupe insisted in outrage, half rising from her chair, causing Radcliff to take a step back, and Rimea to tense ever so slightly. Electricity crackled around the tips of her Dragon's horns, her face flushed with her fury as she glared at the Crown Inquisitor and Princess dangerously. Struggling mightily, Bayloupe swallowed the remainder of her anger, and forced herself to sit back down. Attacking the Princess or her aide would not help matters. "It's a fucking, dirty, goddamn lie." She snapped.

"Your acting is superb." Rimea said, almost clinically, as she eyed Bayloupe. "Why, if I hadn't seen the irrefutable evidence myself, I would have believed you. And I don't trust anyone easily. You are clearly a passionate and zealous person, Bayloupe. It is just too bad you turned your fervor to the wrong sorts of causes."

"What fucking evidence is there?!" Bayloupe demanded. "Let me see this fucking evidence of yours, if it's so goddamn irrefutable!"

"There is no need to validate you any further." Rimea said in denial. "We caught you, and the evidence is undeniable. Take solace in the fact, if you can, that our investigation at least determined that there was no participation by the others within your Cabal. Or at least none we can prove at this point. Unless your eventual confession gives us new leads, this will end along with you."

"You're going to torture me, and then kill me?" Bayloupe said dully, her hands gripping the edge of the table until her knuckles went white and her fingertips almost bled.

"We would prefer not to resort to torture, but all options are on the table if you will not cooperate. A credible attempt at falsifying a Blood Oath is a serious matter of national security, as I'm sure you know. Until we are absolutely sure you have no co-conspirators or hidden allies waiting to take advantage of your work, we cannot allow you to spread this poison further." Radcliff said severely. "Especially considering your prior participation in an attempt armed rebellion, this matter must be seen in the most serious possible light. Serial offenses are always worse when it comes to crime… be it theft, rape, murder… or, most critically, sedition."

"This is bullshit! This is absolutely FUCKING BULLSHIT! I DIDN'T FORGE SHIT! I've NEVER forged SHIT! I make tools that find shit, dig shit up, clean shit off, and kill shit! But not forge stuff! I have not lied! I never have lied, not to this country!" Bayloupe bolted upright, as she bumped up against the edge of the table, her eyes aglow with her fury. "Fuck you and your goddamn evidence, Princess, this is a fucking setup and you fucking know it!"

"Do not attempt to escape. You are surrounded by Knights, and I myself am perfectly capable of putting you down if you force my hand." Rimea took one hand out from behind her back, showcasing an ornately jeweled letter opener with a wicked looking steel blade on it. "It may look like a toy, but this dagger allows my mother to channel some of Curtana's power into me if need be, while within the Palace grounds. Sit back down. Yelling and screaming about your circumstances will not change them."

"NO! NO, I WILL NOT SUBMIT TO THIS!" Bayloupe hollered, shaking all over with her rage. "I trusted your sister, fine, that was a big fucking mistake, I see that now! It was pretty fucking evident when she had her soldiers try to kill me and my family after we'd served our purpose to her! And yeah, I know that doesn't excuse rebelling against the Crown, but goddamn it, if FUCKING CARISSA is allowed a second fucking chance, why not fucking US!? HUH?! Why not fucking US!? Why am I getting fucking railroaded here, when I was legitimately trying to FUCKING HELP, out of pure, fucking patriotism!?"

"I said, sit back d…!" Rimea's stressed command was interrupted by the sudden sound of metal clashing and smashing outside the door. It was similar to the sound of bells falling out of a tower onto pavement, combined with a truckload of silverware being smashed across a street at over a hundred miles per hour. The sort of sound to make people wince and cower just hearing it. An instant later and the door to the room literally blew off its hinges, ripping away chunks of the doorframe as it whirled across the room faster than the human eye could see! The door, made of wood, slammed into the stone wall edge on, so hard that it was driven straight through it, like a knife sliding into cake, without even splintering! The wind of its passing stung the eyes and made everyone in the room flinch and stagger for a moment.

"Someone told me earlier that England has an open-door policy regarding me. But this one seemed to be stuck shut. So, I fixed that for you." Accelerator growled, low and dangerous and predatory, as he stood in the tattered doorway, his cane discarded on the ground behind him. "Now, someone tell me what the fuck is going on in here that's causing all this shouting?"

"Gah!? Gahhh? Gahhh… gua… guards… GUARDS!" Radcliff stammered and whimpered for a moment before regaining himself and calling for support. Hollering out into the hall desperately.

"I'm sure they'll show up, but if you're talking about the tin suit squad outside, I wouldn't expect them soon." Accelerator said with a nasty shrug. "I decided I was done waiting in the hall, and they tried to convince me otherwise." His smirk turned positively demonic. "Their argument was… insufficiently strong."

"This is bullshit!" Bayloupe hissed at him, waving at the Princess and Radcliff. "They say they're taking me in, for, fucking get this… for FORGING that fucking Blood Oath! They say that I made a fake one to justify killing Sharkey and his goons! And then turned it in to fucking Loec Redshrike cause I was just too bloody fucking overconfident that no one would ever be able to detect my perfect bloody fucking forgery! They're gonna torture me to figure out how I made such a good forgery, and then it's off to the headsman or gallows for me, a traitor's death for a two time fucking traitor!"

Accelerator's smirk turned into a frown as he heard that. He ignored the blubbering bureaucrat, and locked eyes with the first Princess. "That fucking right?" Accelerator asked, his voice deceptively mild.

"We have incontrovertible evidence." Rimea said with surprising levelness given her situation.

"The hell you do." Accelerator replied with deadly calm. "For one, it wasn't her that killed those stupid bastards at the docks, that was me. Self-defense, if you care, which I doubt you do. I was there when they threw that Blood Oath at her. It's not hers. Anyone telling you different is a fucking liar."

"Accelerator…" Bayloupe said softly, her eyes wide as she watched him take full credit for what had really been a split operation regarding Sharkey and his goons. Though it did warm her heart to have his unequivocal support. Not that there was any reason she shouldn't have it, since he was speaking the goddamn truth!

"The Blood Oath is a forgery, that is beyond doubt." Rimea countered, turning with glacial self-control to rummage through some of the disordered papers on the side table behind her. She found what she was looking for after a few moments, and placed it on the desk in front of Bayloupe and Accelerator. It was the Blood Oath document. "As Crown Inquisitor Radcliff summarized, the creation of this forged document is too perfect, without the small, humanized flaws found in authentic versions. That is enough to identify it as a fake. But the thing that ties it to Bayloupe is the magical signature on the document. After her participation in my sister's rebellion, we naturally took careful note of her magical signatures… unique to every magician… in case of future trouble with her. And the magic trace is a complete match. Beyond all doubt. Bayloupe is the creator of this document."

"Let me see that fucking thing." Accelerator demanded, as he snatched the paper up. He hadn't really paid that much attention to it before, since Bayloupe had seemed to have it well in hand. Still, the paper in his hands matched up with what his perfect memory had for stored images of it, seen in passing. "Where the fuck is this goddamn signature thing?" He growled.

"It's no use for you to look for it." Rimea explained with a shrug. "Only those who can use magic can detect the energies left behind by the creation or manipulation of mana."

"Oh, is that fucking all?" Accelerator snapped, as he focused on the proper vectors inside himself, and brought forth his own mana. With that suffusing his body, he could now feel something on the paper in his hands. It was indistinct, so he had to focus to really bring the feeling out in his mind. The Princess was sputtering and gasping about something, but he paid her no mind, intent upon the paper in his hands. Slowly, the energies upon the paper made their unique essence… flavor… scent… vector… known to him. His frown deepened. It was Bayloupe all right, he remembered the basic feel of it from handling her rune cards the day before. But something wasn't entirely right either…

"Give me your hand." He looked over at his girlfriend, the snap in his tone brooking no argument and no delay. Bayloupe eyed him, looking back and forth between him and the gaping Princess Rimea, but he had no time for that, snatching her hand almost painfully hard as she extended it towards him. "Refine some mana." He ordered curtly once he had a grip on her. Bayloupe grimaced, but did as he bid. Accelerator closed his eyes to concentrate even further. Feeling the flavor and shape of the magic vectors on the paper, and the ones being generated by Bayloupe right now.

They were very nearly an exact match. Very nearly, but not entirely. The difference was in the decay vector, the entropy one, such as one existed for Magic energies anyway. The energy coming out of the Blood Oath was an exact match for Bayloupe's in every way… except that it was old. Not like hours old, or days old, or even months old. Years old, at least. It wasn't quite like judging the age of an object by its radioisotope decay, but that was the closest metaphor Accelerator could make sense of in his mind. The energy was the same between them, but the stuff on the document was aged, worn by time.

"It's a fake." He announced, as he opened his eyes and returned his awareness to his surroundings, noting without much surprise that suddenly the room was a lot more crowded, as a reinforcement platoon of armored knights had appeared behind him while he was intent on his work. Their swords and spears and halberds were all drawn, and pointing more or less at him and Bayloupe, but he paid them no heed, no moreso than he did bugs in the grass outside.

"That was our conclusion as well, obviously she is..." Radcliff started to say.

"No, the signature is a fake." Accelerator cut her off with annoyance. "It's too old to be hers. The signature is almost identical, but its vector of time is completely different. I don't understand this magic bullshit, but this signature is a fake."

"Let me see that thing!" Bayloupe removed her hand from his grip, and then took the paper from his other hand, her brow furrowed as she analyzed it herself. "What the fuck is this…? How is this…?" she muttered under her breath.

"You'll understand that we can't exactly take your word for it?" Rimea was studied Accelerator almost as carefully as he'd studied the Blood Oath. "I'm not sure how you were able to refine mana just now, but regardless… you're an Esper, an Ability User. Even if you have somehow managed to violate the laws of reality without paying the price… you said it yourself. You don't understand magic. Your opinion holds no weight. And that's not even considering your obvious bias of affection…"

"It holds all the fucking weight in the world to me." Accelerator refuted coldly. "I don't understand a lot about magic, but I understand vectors, including magic vectors. And I know her vectors pretty fucking well. Whoever made that Blood Oath, they did a pretty good job. Clearly fooled all of you. But they couldn't hide the vectors of time… nobody can. It's a fake. I'm 100% sure. And my feelings have nothing to do with it."

"Princess." A new voice, male, strong and stoic and longsuffering, interrupted from the doorway. Accelerator glanced over, along with the others, Radcliff almost simpering with relief as he saw who it was. "Is there a problem here?"

"Knight Leader." Rimea nodded her head in a gesture of respect for the strongest Knight in England. She might not trust him, as she didn't trust anyone who knew who she was. But that didn't mean she didn't respect him, even like him. Especially at times like this. "I'm afraid there is. Our evidence strongly, even overwhelmingly indicates that Bayloupe here has forged a Blood Oath, for reasons yet unknown. She maintains her innocence in the matter, despite the evidence. And Accelerator claims that he can detect that the magical signature on the document is a fake, somehow."

"Let me see it." Knight Leader extended a hand, and Bayloupe, a trifle nervously, handed over the Blood Oath to him. Accelerator felt a brief surge of magical energies around the Knight, as he focused on the document in his hand. "The signature matches the one in my memories completely." Knight Leader reported after a few moments, his tone neutral.

"Then you're either blind or senile." Accelerator retorted with a snarl. "The time vector is completely wrong, how can't you see that? The signature on the paper comes from a source that's years old, completely different from her current signature. Like a flower trapped in amber, compared to a freshly picked one."

"Hmm." Knight Leader furrowed his brow in thought. "Perhaps. But judging the age of a magical signature is not exact even for a specialist. Of which I am not. I am not denying your conjecture has possibility, but for safety's sake I think…"

"If he says the vector is wrong, then he speaks the truth." Another new voice, just as terse and stoic as Knight Leader's, cut in from behind the leader of the Knights. Another familiar face made itself known, pushing through the ranks of Knights. Acqua of the Back. Or William, nowadays. "He has no reason to lie about it, to grasp at straws for an explanation." Acqua continued, with a nod in Accelerator's direction. "He has the strength to defeat everyone here, and escape with the girl, and we might not even be able to slow him down. There is no need for him to invent a reason for her to not be guilty."

"Are you saying we should just throw out all the evidence, on his say so alone? Just because he's strong enough to beat everyone here and walk away unharmed?" Rimea scoffed a bit at the idea. "This is not a might makes right situation, William. I can think of several reasons why he might want to avoid simply escaping… perhaps he doesn't want her to be a hunted fugitive, for one."

"To doubt is human, but it is my personal estimation that he isn't lying, for whatever that is worth. Accelerator is a good man, better than he knows…" Acqua ignored the under-the-breath scoff from the object of his validation. "England owes him a lot. Including, I think, some leeway on this matter."

"His prior service to the Crown is not forgotten, nor will it ever be." Rimea countered. "But to excuse treason, or all but certain treason? Gratitude has its limits, William, and mine does not extend to allowing England to look weak by not once but TWICE allowing a traitor to walk free of punishment. What sort of message does that send to the Church? To the Nobles? Confidence in my mother's rule is already weakened by Carissa's actions… if we do not act decisively now, on this, things will get much worse…"

"So, it's better to act decisively, even if it means killing someone who is innocent?" Bayloupe spoke up, though she was doing her best not to tremble, given the massive power imbalance between her and most of the people in the room.

"You're hardly innocent." Rimea pointed out, causing Bayloupe to grimace. "Whether you are guilty of this second offense may be in some small doubt, but your prior sedition is a matter of historical note. By the law alone, you should have hanged for that already. My mother granted you mercy… against my advice. I hold no personal discord for you, aside from that you assisted my misguided sister in trying to kill me and my family. But that is irrelevant to the point that you are a traitor to England, and the punishment for high crimes like treason is execution. If we fail to set the example on things like this, then it will only encourage others to test our boundaries as well. Your innocence really is of little consequence… for the good of England, you need to be made an example of. That is the pragmatic course here."

"No one is making an example out of anyone. Unless it's me, showing you all why attacking someone close to me, my fucking friend, is a bad fucking idea!"

"Oh, so Carissa is "misguided" but I'm a fucking traitor, huh? She gets to work off her debt to the Crown, she's even returned to her position of authority. But me, I need to be made an example of." Bayloupe said with vicious sarcasm. "What about him?" She pointed at Knight Leader. "He was on her side too! He was her fucking right hand man the whole fucking time! Why isn't he up against the wall!?"

"Because he, like Carissa, is too important to England's image." Rimea answered, matter of factly. "Though executing Carissa was once discussed at the highest levels, due to Mr. Kamijou's intervention, it was decided that it was best to go with another path. Her strength is still useful to England, and her sudden disappearance would cause much unrest amongst the populace and internationally as well. Knight Leader as well, if he were removed, the shake up in the Knights would lead to much internal discord and unrest, which England cannot afford. But you are just an independent Mage of no real backing or consequence. As a sacrifice for England, you're ideal for the situation." Rimea shot a stern glare at Bayloupe. "And before you protest the unfairness, mind that if Carissa makes another attempt at sedition, as you appear to have, she would be slaughtered out of hand and without a second thought, consequences be damned."

"That's enough." A tired female voice interjected, causing expressions of shock and consternation to fly onto the faces of the Knights, Knight Leader, Radcliff and Rimea. A woman in late middle age, with greying blond hair and worn blue eyes, stood in a black and white nightgown in the doorway. It was the Queen Regnant, Elizard. "This won't be solved here, shouting at each other. Let's move to more comfortable surroundings for a discussion."

Xxxx

 **Fifteen minutes later, Queen's Private salon**

"When I heard that you were coming back to England for a vacation, I was overjoyed." Elizard said, as she stood by the window of her salon, now dressed in something approaching a respectable fashion, in one of her less formal dresses. She held a steaming china cup of tea on a saucer in one hand, and contemplatively sipped from it from time to time. Her normally ebullient attitude was somewhat lacking, both due to her lack of sleep and the gravitas of the situation, though a twinkle in her eye could be seen lurking.

"You are one of the heroes of that unfortunate incident, and though your participation in resolving it, along with that of your friends, can never be made publicly known, I have always been deeply grateful. You didn't have to do anything to help us, but you did, even though you could easily have all died in the process. That sort of righteousness is rare in this world of ours." She went on, before turning back to look at her guests.

Her salon was not particularly large, most of the space dominated by a table at which she commonly ate breakfast or brunch, usually with close friends or confidants. A private space, one decorated to her own whims rather than the aesthetics of the palace, so it was more than a bit eclectic to say the least. For now though, there was no time to appreciate the quirky décor. Sitting at one end of the table were Bayloupe and Accelerator, both of them with cups of the best coffee in England in front of them, though neither cup had been touched much. Further up the table sat her three daughters, Rimea, Carissa and Villian. Near the door were the only other two occupants of the room, an antsy looking Knight Leader, and a stoic looking William Orwell. It probably would have been best to have Archbishop Stewart here as well, but she could not be currently reached, for whatever reason. Smart woman.

Rimea was sipping at her own cup of tea, only the frequency with which she took those sips betraying her inner agitation, as she was otherwise staring straight ahead, not looking at any of the other occupants of the room. Villian was glancing at William every now and then… a situation that would have resulted in amused teasing from Elizard under almost any other situation… as well as yawning from time to time, clearly suffering from the early awakening. Carissa almost appeared to be meditating, but Elizard could feel the tension in her second daughter, and especially so in the glares that young Bayloupe was sending Carissa's way, and that Carissa was studiously ignoring, somewhat out of character for her proud and easily offended daughter.

However, it was the brooding, sullen and grim figure of Accelerator to whom Elizard was speaking, and to whom she devoted most of her attention. His crimson eyes were burning with impatience, irritation and not a little true anger. And she could not entirely blame him, as from a personal perspective, she completely emphasized with him. His loved one… at least she assumed that was the nature of their relationship… was under threat, and it was from her power that the threat stemmed. And Accelerator was well known in the halls of power, for his methods of dealing with threats to his loved ones. If it were one of her daughters being threatened, she would react as he was… she even had, actually, when the matter of Carissa's punishment was first being decided upon.

"But the situation we are now in, is unfortunately complex, as so many things are." Elizard sighed in discontent. "The evidence gathered by my own law enforcement agents, who are trusted and vetted well, states that Bayloupe is guilty of attempted subversion of a Crown sanctified Blood Oath… high treason. The evidence is more than enough to convict in a court of law, much less a magic tribunal. This would be her second offense of high treason… a situation which not only disallows clemency, but demands the harshest possible punishment. Life imprisonment is the least of what she should expect."

Elizard watched as Accelerator opened his mouth, before smiling slightly and going on. "However, the evidence is not completely ironclad. It is disputed, by a man who has no real reason to lie, whose character is vouched for by a Saint, and who has done me and my people a great service in the past. Unfortunately, the aspect of the evidence that is in dispute, is not one that can be reliably confirmed one way or another. Certainly not to the standards of a court of law." Elizard sighed heavily and looked at her daughters. "What do you all think that we should do? This is one of those hard questions an eventual Queen will need to be able to answer…"

"I think we should give her the benefit of the doubt." Villian spoke up first, somewhat to the surprise of the others, as she was normally quiet with her opinions. "Though her support of Carissa's rebellion…" She carefully did not look at her elder sister, as that was still, and probably long would be, an uncomfortable topic for their family. "… is not in question, she did change her allegiance during the incident and helped against Carissa in the end. And since then she and her Cabal have offered their services freely to the Church, and have been helpful in the ongoing conflict against Eve, including at significant risk to their lives, for little recompense. I think this speaks volumes about her character, and this business with the Blood Oath is out of that character… and that feels strange to me."

"I feel just the opposite." Rimea said coldly. "She's a serial traitor. First to England in assisting Carissa's revolt, then to Carissa herself when circumstances changed during that revolt, and now here she is rebelling against the Crown once more, for a purpose I admittedly cannot yet discern. Clearly her loyalties are in constant flux, and she will betray or rebel against whoever she needs to in order to prosper and survive at any given moment. She is completely unreliable, and her continued existence, not to mention her continued freedom, is a stain on England's honor, and a severe risk to our reputation as a nation. In the interests of the Nation, she should be tried, imprisoned and executed as a warning. We can set up a fund for her Cabal mates living expenses afterwards, if need be, assuming we do not find them complicit in her further treason."

"That seems a little, harsh, dear. It's unlike you to be so aggressive in matters like this." Elizard pointed out, studying her eldest daughter.

"This matter is of personal importance to me. As the heir apparent, I will be succeeding you eventually, Mother. In good time. But eventually I will be Queen Regnant, and in charge of this country's path. I am thinking of the long term consequences of these sorts of decisions. If England acquires a reputation for weakness and fecklessness in regard to high crimes during your reign, that will carry on over into my own. That will make my reign far more difficult and fraught with uprisings, revolts and people testing the boundaries of my patience and empathy. It is only logical to nip problems like this in the bud as early as possible... even if that means acting harshly and aggressively right now. I will NOT see our beloved Kingdom fragment yet further due to internal instability. And if the occasional little person has to get ground up in the gears of state in the process, then they have my sympathies, but not my forbearance."

"Carissa?" Elizard prompted after a long few moments of silence after Rimea and Villian weighed in on the matter.

"Yeah. I'm interested in what you have to say for yourself too." Bayloupe cut in before Carissa could answer Elizard. Her tone was insubordinate, rude and downright offensive, but Elizard took no offense. The girl's fate was being decided here, more or less, she was allowed to be a little testy. Normally anyone who spoke to her second Daughter in that tone would end up covered in whip marks at the very least, but for tonight Carissa seemed to be of the same mind as her mother, and paid it little heed. For now.

"I think the solution is simple." Carissa said, looking at Elizard. "She is a loyal English patriot, that is not in doubt. She is also of questionable loyalties to the Crown, despite that patriotism. Assuming her guilt in this second offense cannot be proven, beyond any and all doubt, I think the best answer is to simply make her go away. She's a problem for England's reputation, but that reputation being sullied by scapegoating an innocent woman simply for political expediency is also no good. We are no third world junta here, if we can't prove wrongdoing, then we must not act precipitously. But if we cannot prove innocence either, then the best middle course is to remove the problem without killing her."

"So, you advocate exile then." Elizard summarized for her daughter.

"Yes. Send her away and never allow her to return. She can move to Academy City, or somewhere else in the world. Out of sight and out of mind, soon enough she will be forgotten, assuming she doesn't do anything stupid." Carissa said firmly.

"Trusting you was stupid." Bayloupe perhaps meant to say that under her breath, but the acoustics of the room made it clearly audible to all. That was more than Carissa's pride could take. She wasn't about to tolerate people muttering at her while she was around.

"You have a comment?" Carissa challenged Bayloupe, with a stare that had made strong men quail in the past. But Bayloupe was far too angry to care about the power and rank disparity between them.

"Yeah. Yeah I fucking do!" Bayloupe retorted with gritted teeth. "I trusted you, Carissa." She deliberately left off the "Highness" or any other sign of respect. "More than that, I BELIEVED in you! In your cause. In your dream. My friends and I, we sweated blood to find Curtana Original for you. We risked everything to get you the one thing, the one thing in all the world that could make your dream possible… and we did it! We found it! We did everything right! We excelled! And all we wanted was for you to fulfill that dream. The money was nice, but bringing your dream to England… that was what we wanted! And I thought you knew that. I thought you knew that we were yours, through and through, to death and beyond, we were your supporters!"

"We didn't want recognition. Or fame. We didn't want you to thank us or give us medals or land or titles. The money you promised would have been enough to set us up for comfortable lives, and that was all we wanted. Comfortable lives in a country we could be proud of… a country ruled by you! That was our dream… my dream. But you crushed that dream. Carissa, you fucking CRUSHED that dream! Why? WHY!? FUCKING WHY?! Why did you order us killed after we got you the sword?! What did we do wrong?! Why was it necessary that we be silenced like that? We… we LOVED you, we ENABLED you, and you ordered your men to kill us for it! SO WHY!? FUCKING WHY!?" Bayloupe was in tears by the time she'd finished her rant, her breathing ragged and her face flushed. "Why…?"

"The simple answer?" Carissa's face was like a mask of wood, immobile and uncaring, though whatever she might be really feeling was hidden. "You misunderstood my dream. I had no interest in ruling. I wanted to see Curtana destroyed, the royal line ended, so that England would no longer be held in thrall by the power of Angels wielded by a single person, be it me or anyone else. Perhaps my thinking was flawed… I have since learned that there is more hope in this world than I originally thought. He has taught me that much. I ordered your disposal because I needed a spark. Something to spur resentment of me in the populace, and news of my backstabbing such loyal followers would be a good catalyst. Your work was everything I needed, and your deaths would have been the flame that lit the pyre of the Royal Family. Alas, it didn't work out. You were critical to my plan twice over, if that's any consolation. My partisans, loyal unto death… regardless of whence it came from."

"FUCK… YOU… BITCH!" Bayloupe growled, almost rising from her seat in incandescent fury.

"There is a limit to the amount of cheek I will tolerate from you." Carissa retorted, straightening in her seat.

"And there's a limit to the amount of bullshit I'm willing to listen to in one night." Accelerator countered, as he reached out and put a hand on Bayloupe's shoulder. "I'll say this once, so you better listen. Bayloupe… all of new Light… is under my protection. They are not your people, they are my people. Anyone who acts against them, acts against me. Their enemies are my enemies. Someone out there, perhaps within your government, is trying to frame her for treason, for some fucking reason I couldn't care less about. That motherfucker, and anyone supporting them, is going to die. Anyone who gets in my way of doing that, is going to be broken. At the least." He met Carissa's glare and returned it with interest. "Knights. Saints. Princesses. Doesn't fucking matter. Get in my way and I'll run you over and smash you flat."

"You're just making this harder on yourself." Rimea said flatly. "Now you're threatening us. If we bow to that, we'll be perceived as even weaker than simply letting her off scot free for treason."

"Threats? No, that was just information. Hard data. A threat could just be a bluff. What I just told you is scientific fact. Cause and effect." Accelerator retorted.

"We're all a bit short tempered. It's been a rough night." Elizard cut in before things could escalate any further. "This matter is serious, but not massively urgent, all things considered. I think it may be best to set it aside for a few days while I consider and consult with my advisers. Normally I would require that someone under suspicion of high treason be kept confined, just to ensure there is no risk of flight or the like. But in this case, with Accelerator's guarantee, I think we can forgo that requirement. You are free to return home and go about your life as normally as you can, for now. In three days time, I will call for you again, and tell you my decision regarding your fate. Assuming no new information comes to light in that time…"

Accelerator didn't exactly need a sign with flashing lights to tell him what the Queen meant by that. She was giving them some rope, some space to try and figure out what the fuck was going on, to find the real culprits behind the frame job, and clear Bayloupe's name. She couldn't hold off judgment forever, as political pressures were mounting and a quick solution would be better for their National interest than a truly just one, and as the ruling authority, they had to put their National interests first. But three days was a long time, relatively speaking. He'd been in major crisis's that were solved in far less time than that, many times before. He pulled himself to his feet, his hand still on Bayloupe's shoulder. His girlfriend had lost most of her fire after her outburst at Carissa, but there was still embers of life flickering in her eyes.

She too rose, and gave a mostly perfunctory bow in the direction of Queen Elizard, all the respect she could currently muster for her ruler, given the situation. It wasn't like she was stupid or ungrateful... like Accelerator, she understood that the Queen was giving them some space, a lifeline to cling to. But that lifeline could easily turn into literal hangman's noose if they couldn't find evidence that she was being framed within three days. Well, no. Accelerator had stated that she was under his protection, so her death was probably not in the cards. That was less solace than one might think on the surface though. It was a sad day for a true English patriot when her foreign boyfriend had to shield her against the actions of her own government. She lifted one hand, and wordlessly placed it on top of Accelerator's hand on her shoulder

"Good luck. And fare well." Elizard said gravely to them, returning Bayloupe's simple bow with the slight turn of her head. Accelerator of course did not genuflect in any way, but nobody, not even Carissa, would have expected him to. The four royals watched the two of them, hero and traitor, Esper and Mage, boy and girl, leave the room. The future was uncertain. There were... infinite possibilities.


	9. Cold Rain of the Heart

**Author Note:**

Mixed reviews for the last chapter so far. Well, two reviews at the time of me writing this, both of whom have expressed some concerns. I'll do my best to address them as I can here. To at least explain my reasoning about some things. Though I note I did edit and re-upload the last chapter with a few additional paragraphs in the last scene to add some in-story weight to my reasoning as well.

Crack Shipping Guy: First off, I did notice in your review of ACIP that you wondered how I could post before Dark did, even though I basically started that chapter earlier that day? Its cause I'm a fucking beast, to be honest, astonishing even myself, when it comes to getting into a groove of writing. I can't do it reliably, but when my fingers are hot, I can pound out 10k words in 8 hours or so, as I did then. Though I guess its not always guaranteed to be my best writing. Mileage may vary.

Regarding your review to ACAL, I don't believe there is such a setting as "too arrogant" for Accelerator. Certainly, he has mellowed out around his friends in ACIP and ACAL, but I feel that arrogance is one of Accel's defense mechanisms. When he feels threatened or bothered, he retreats into sullenness, arrogance and spikiness. And while he himself is not under direct threat in this chapter, his girlfriend is, and his feelings of helplessness to be able to solve her problem are making him exaggerate his arrogance, trying to provide some form of moral support to her, in a flawed sort of way.

Stiyl, in my opinion, wasn't acting like a pussy, he was simply acting like he didn't want to be there. Which he didn't. He was forced to show up by the Archbishop, against his wishes, and he could tell the situation was going to get ugly, probably hearing some stuff through Necessarius's spy network. Why would he want to spend more time and energy on a disaster waiting to happen when he was only there through political favor trading? Also, I don't think we've seen Stiyl interact with Accelerator in the post-Cain fight era in ACIP, so that sort of thing may have changed his opinion of him. Its logical to be a bit afraid of a guy who killed Cain. Or who everyone believes did.

This story takes place in a POSSIBLE future of ACIP. Maybe a year ahead of ACIP current point, give or take. Dark and I are friends and we privately talk about our stories and stuff, but its not true collaboration. Events in ACAL may reference ACIP, but there is no solid cause and effect between them. And you should not take any reference in ACAL regarding ACIP as truth or word of God, even if they do actually match up (Dark takes some inspirations from me as well). They're just fun references for me to acknowledge my source material. Though regarding Kanzaki, I don't think the church would want to call her dead even if she was. Having your Saint killed by Academy City, or someone in it, would be a huge lose of prestige for Necessarius. They would try to cover it up as much as possible, and list her as simply "Missing", not dead, until they had no other choice.

Mr X: You ask what the big deal is in regards to the Blood Oaths and the forgery of same? Consider that Blood Oath's are basically a means of overriding free will in those that sign them, to ensure that they keep to the letter and spirit of an agreement, regardless of their own later will or wishes. They are thus strictly regulated by the government and only the government is allowed to create and use them… because the potential for abuse is so staggeringly high. So, if someone CAN forge one, or a very near replica of one, that could allow them to enslave people, make them puppets, and could cause untold damage within the highest levels of England's legal system by invalidating Blood Oath's as something that is trusted to seal the most important deals and negotiations.

Radiocarbon dating, while accurate in a geological or historical era sense, is not really a process that can narrow down the age of an object to a specific exact year or day. The same applies to the dating of a magical signature. Most people can only detect the difference between one that was made hundreds of years ago compared to one made recently… the margin of error for one made only a couple years ago is simply too small to detect. Only Accel's vector mastery allows him to feel that small change so acutely. As for how perfect the signature is, why would they consider that a found signature that matches exactly their recorded signature is a fake? That's not logical. It's when a signature doesn't match exactly that people get suspicious. But an exact match is an exact match, they would not question that.

I'm sorry that you feel the chapter was pointless, though I assure you it was not. It was the crux of the entire plot of the story. Every event that occurs from now on, aside from the occasional sex scenes, until the climax, is driven by this framejob of Bayloupe. Who did it? Why? What do they want? How will they combat this, in only three days? Also, her disillusionment with the royal family, and the country in general, is important to Bayloupe's character arc, and to the deepening of her and Accelerator's relationship. She's losing some of her longest held moorings in life, and will be looking for new ones to stabilize herself with.

Xxxx

 **Wednesday morning, Blackpoole County, Bayloupe's house, a couple hours before dawn.**

With a roar of furiously constrained wind, which blew leaves off nearby trees and stirred up a few quickly re-directed clouds of dust, Accelerator alighted upon the ground in Bayloupe's backyard. Four tornado-like streamers of controlled air pressure extended from his mid-upper back, acting less like wings and more like VTOL thrusters, regardless of what those with a more poetical mindset might like to think. Bayloupe was held in his arms, in a princess carry, the sight somewhat incongruous since she was bigger than he was, and thus he appeared overbalanced. Of course, with a little manipulation of gravity's vector on her body, she was literally as light as a feather in his arms, and thus no real burden at all.

Despite the fact that his girlfriend was literally in his arms, and had been for the entire twenty or so minutes it had been since he lifted off from Buckingham Palace… with considerably less care than he had exercised when landing! There was none of the good sort of awkwardness he usually felt when riding tandem with Bayloupe on the fucking scooter. That abomination of a vehicle might be embarrassing as all fuck to be seen on, but riding it with Bayloupe always felt like a moment of closeness between them. A private thing even though they were in public. Carrying her in his arms, by rights, should have felt even better, even more intimate. Instead, he had felt little to nothing, just her presence, and a distant and distracted presence at that.

 _Not how I wanted our first flight together to go._ Accelerator reflected sourly within his mind. It was an idea he'd been toying with off and on over the prior few days, ever since conceding to try out this boyfriend and girlfriend thing. It was something that only he could provide, a date in the sky, at least for a brief time. Total freedom to explore the heights most human only dreamed of. Just the two of them together in the vastness of the night sky. Higher than even a dragon could fly. A wild, fanciful dream, especially for a guy like him. One he had been warming up to, especially as he had more intimate encounters with Bayloupe, mostly on her terms and instigation. It would be pleasant to turn the tables on her and initiate something himself.

Setting Bayloupe onto the ground, Accelerator could only watch sullenly as she looked around distractedly, as if finally noticing where they were or how they had got there. _This sort of shell shock doesn't suit her._ He thought to himself, but he wasn't sure how to shake her out of her funk. His lip curled into an angry snarl, not angry at her, nor even really the situation they were in, but rather angry at himself. For his inability to really help someone he cared for in her time of need. His power was the greatest in the entire world, or close to it, but it was of no use at all in this situation. And his aloofness, his arrogance, was not what Bayloupe needed right now. Emotional pain? He knew no other strategy than to retreat into arrogance and aloofness, taking solace in his own power, even if it meant being alone…

"I'm going inside. Thanks for taking me home." Bayloupe's dull, half lifeless voice stirred him from his inward recriminations, and he looked at her. She had a fragile little smile on her face, like her features were made of stunt glass, just waiting for a mere tap to start showing cracks. Accelerator opened his mouth, to say anything, maybe even something he might later regret, to try and jolt her out of her pathetic state and back into the resilient, wicked and cool girl he was accustomed to. Before he could, Bayloupe had already turned away and moved inside, walking in a partial stagger, uncoordinated and unenergetic.

"Damn it all…" Accelerator cursed softly, once the door to the house closed behind her, leaving him alone in the back-yard. He looked up at the night sky, cloudy and chill, dark and brooding. It was looking like rain again soon. England never seemed to get enough of rain. "Fuck this country." He added after a few moments, his tone low but vehement. Turning off his collar at last, though he'd already wasted most of his current battery with the flight home, Accelerator took up his cane and made his way into the house as well. There had been no real choice in the matter. He wasn't about to let the English government just send them home in a car or helicopter, not after the events during the night. Having to rely on the government that was condemning her, threatening her life and her future, for a false crime, for even something as simple as transportation home… no, fuck that. Fuck. That.

Bayloupe was not in evidence when he stepped into the kitchen, nor visible in the sitting room, so Accelerator surmised that she had gone upstairs, perhaps to change her clothes. Being woken so abruptly in the middle of the night, she had simply thrown on the same uniform she'd worn for work the day before, and he figured that she probably wanted fresher clothes. Girls were fastidious like that. As was he, when he had the option to be. _Goddamn it, I don't know what to say to her right now._ Accelerator thought grimly, even as he knew that as a boyfriend, hell as a FRIEND, he had to do SOMETHING.

Seeing as he was in the kitchen, and that they were unlikely to go back to sleep with dawn only a few hours away, Accelerator eventually set about making breakfast for them both. Eggs. Bacon. Toast. Just the way she liked it from prior days. It was make-work, but it gave him time to think, even if that time availed him little in the way of solutions or answers. Bayloupe did not come downstairs during the time he was cooking, even though it couldn't possibly take that long to change her clothes. Even when he put the food on plates, and got utensils out, and even two cans of the best coffee, and set it all up on the table, side by side… she still hadn't come back down.

"What the fuck is wrong with me?" Accelerator asked the empty room, staring at the two plates of food, as they slowly started getting cold, untouched. _I know what I should be doing… what the Hero would be doing, in this kind of situation. Hell, what any normal guy would do. But… why can't I? I'm the fucking Number 1! The strongest! How can it be that I don't have the strength to… to just go upstairs to her? Why the fuck am I piddling around down here, just waiting for her to fix herself and come down, like nothing's fucking wrong… I can't be this pathetic!_ He tightened his grip on his cane, almost to the point of pain, before he forced his grip to relax again.

 _Well, I made fucking breakfast, didn't I? Can't let it go to waste. I hate this so fucking much…_ He groused to himself, as he gathered up the plates and the cans of coffee, slipping the latter into his pants pockets, as he delicately balanced the plates on his free arm, as he began to stump across the kitchen towards the sitting room, and the staircase beyond. It wasn't easy, as without his powers, his balance was not all that great. Especially with the cans in his pockets and the plates on his free arm. Getting up the stairs without tripping and spilling everything was going to be a bitch.

 _I could just flip my choker. Still got enough power to get up the fucking stairs, no issue._ Accelerator acknowledged, even though he knew that at this point, there was no way that would happen. It wouldn't be challenging, he could lean on the wall, drop the cane and click the choker in a second, and walk upstairs like it was nothing. But for some reason, some reason he could not define even to himself right now, his heart rebelled at the idea. He didn't want to come up the stairs as the Number 1. He'd been the Number 1 most of the night thus far, arrogant and cocky and abrasive and dominating. At times, it had helped a little for Bayloupe to see that. But not right now.

 _She doesn't need the Number 1. She needs Accelerator._ He told himself, as he stood at the bottom of the stairs and looked up at them. _Whoever the fuck that is._ He added, with savage self-depreciation. He braced the cane on the first step and lifted his foot, leaning forward to keep his center of balance as his arm began to ache a little under the burden of the two plates and the food. _Weakling._ He scowled at himself, and ignored the pangs in his arm, and squared his stance off again as he got up the first step. Step by slow step, progressing upwards, while his heart ached and his arm trembled, and his many, many inadequacies, as a man, as a human being, taunted him inside his head.

 _Murderer…_ was the accusation his psyche leveled at him as he reached the top of the stairs, his body sweating a bit, his chest aching with the physical strain. Even with his powers off, he wasn't normally this weak or frail. But something was dragging at him, burdening him down, making him want to give up, to turn around and go back downstairs. To simply wait for Bayloupe to fix herself, to recover on her own. The easy path. The path that wouldn't make him have to deal with bullshit emotions and the terrifying perils of intimacy. The one-way path of the Number 1 in the world, with all its sweet, poisonous seductions of independence… and loneliness.

 _Fuck you!_ Accelerator cursed whatever part of his psyche was tormenting him and pressed onwards. It could rip and tear at him as much as it wanted, but he'd come too far… not just tonight, with the stairs, but in general, in life, as a person, as a human, to give in to his own flaws and weakness and insecurity now! He used his hip to push open the door to Bayloupe's bedroom. Immediately, the sound of the shower, subliminal though it might normally be, made itself known to him. Setting the plates of food on the side table by the bed and adding the cans of coffee to the crowded surface, Accelerator found himself hesitating again.

 _You brought the food up, that's good enough. Just wait out here for her to get done showering. You did the good boyfriend thing, now give her space._ His thoughts cajoled him, his eyes falling upon the bed, the sheets still disordered from where they had gotten out of them a few hours before. It was a comfortable bed, to lie on or sit on. _Let her get her head on straight again. Leave her be. She's a big girl. She'll get over it. You did, all those times in the past when things fucked you up inside. And she's stronger than you, when it comes to bullshit like this. If you could get over it, she'll be fine._

"I said, fuck you!" Accelerator growled to the empty room, and his inner demons, tearing his eyes away from the inviting solitude of the bed. The cold, empty bed. He massaged the bridge of his nose and brow, feeling a sharp, throbbing headache start to come on. It just made him want to sit down and take a breather all the more. He stood like that for almost a minute, hating himself the more his indecision lingered, before he finally couldn't take it any-more. He had no idea if he was doing the right thing. But doing anything was better than doing nothing.

He made his way to the bathroom door. For a moment he thought about knocking but scowled that thought away. Bayloupe had made it clear that he was welcome in her most intimate places already. Knocking was just a cowardly excuse to find a reason not to follow through with his intentions now, to give her a reason to shut him out, to refuse his help, awkward and flawed though it was. He opened the door and found the room to be surprisingly free of steam. The shower was running full tilt, but there was little in the way of heat in the room.

His feet made soft sounds on the floor, which was damp and wet in spots where water had leaked out of the not entirely closed shower door. It wasn't a big shower, though larger than the one in Yomikawa's apartment at least, even if the bathroom itself was overall smaller than the one back in Academy City. He stepped to the frosted glass of the shower door and pushed it open. Bayloupe was within, unsurprisingly. She hadn't even bothered to get undressed, and now she was a soaking wet mess, sitting in one corner of the shower stall, with her knees drawn up to her face, and her arms around her calves as the shower water, lukewarm at best, poured down on her head and back. Her face was completely hidden from him.

Reflected spray from the water hitting the walls and floor of the shower began to dampen Accelerator's pants and shirt, but he paid it no heed. Standing on the threshold of the shower, one final hesitation as he looked at his girlfriend. "I'm fucking pathetic, I know." Bayloupe suddenly spoke, her voice, quavering with raw emotion, barely audible over the pouring water. "We're on the clock to the end of my fucking life, and I'm falling to fucking pieces and bawling my eyes out. It's fucking awful. It's weak-ass bullshit, and its fucking pathetic."

Accelerator did not reply to that, he wasn't sure that anyone could have a reply to that. Not without saying something he didn't mean. He just stood in the doorway, slowly getting more and more soaked. "But what the fuck? I mean… what the actual FUCK!?" Bayloupe shuddered as she went on, holding her legs tighter, her horns rasping against the tiled wall of the bathroom as she shook her head against her knees. "All I ever wanted was to make the UK a better place, for everyone. To make my country stronger, and freer, and just… fucking better! I love my country… this country… this FUCKING country… I love it so fucking much but… it doesn't seem to fucking love me any!"

"I just… I wanted a fucking life where I wouldn't have to worry about some rival magicians fucking us over all the time. Or the church starting up a fucking inquisition to root out "pagan witches". Or where I wouldn't have to suck cocks and drop my fucking pants in back alleys when money got tight, to put food on the table for my sisters to eat. I wanted out… I wanted a real fucking life, for the first fucking time since I was a fucking toddler! That's all I wanted. I wanted to be done, to be normal. One big score to end it all. And if that score helped save the fucking country from decay and decrepitude…? Well, fuck yeah, why not, right?"

Accelerator still did not reply, but he stepped into the shower… having got enough reflected spray that he would be just as wet either way by then. He slowly slid down the wall and sat at Bayloupe's side. Just a bare inch separating them, as the water poured down on top of him, slicking his white hair to his head and face, covering his eyes in a sheeting curtain of white hair and silver water. It wasn't exactly comfortable. But all things considered, the water on his face and head was amongst the least uncomfortable things he was feeling at the moment.

"You know…" Bayloupe cut off with a strangulated sob. "You know…" she continued after a moment. "The part that I really can't come to terms with? The part that REALLY fucks with me? It's that we DIDN'T fuck up the Curtana job. Gods. We've screwed up so many crappy jobs before in the past. Lessar is a fucking artist at screwing things up at the worst time. The girl can't fucking stay out of trouble for love or money! I've spanked her ass red more times than I can count and she just doesn't seem to learn. Floris isn't much better, she just screws up in different ways. Lancis does her best, but she's too soft spoken, too introverted, I can't rely on her for big things, for people work. But the Curtana job… that went like a fucking dream from start to finish. Well, it got a little fucking rough at the end when we encountered you guys… but we DID the job. We fucking DID the FUCKING JOB! Our greatest success ever!"

"And she ordered us killed for it. That bitch. That monstrous, arrogant, cocky, snooty bitch of a Princess… she ordered us fucking killed for doing the best job of our lives! For doing everything right and making her whole fucking plan possible! Just so she could fulfill some fucked up part of her cockamamie fucking plan to do who knows the fuck what with England's future!? I could almost accept getting backstabbed, if it was for some important reason, you know? But to be tossed out, discarded just to make a fucking reputation for her like that? No. No fucking way. That's what you do to fucking trash. I've been fucking trash before. We all have. No fucking way can I take that from anyone, not even the goddamn Royal family!"

"I hate her. I hate her so much. That princess. That Carissa. Gods, I wish I could kill her so much! Heh. Treason just to say that out loud, in some parts of the country, you know? Guess that makes me a triple traitor now." Bayloupe made a sobbing sound again, her shoulders heaving as she clutched at her legs. "It's not like I don't get it. We backed the wrong horse. The coup failed, and that has consequences. Gods, I never thought it could fail… who would have expected the wielder of Curtana Original to fucking fail, right? But it did. It failed. She failed. And that put me and my sisters on the bad guy list. But Carissa… fucking Carissa, what does she get? Some time out in the Tower, and then right back into the swing of things, leading major military ops and getting back on with her life, that's fucking what, like she didn't just plot regicide!"

"And what do we get? All our money confiscated. Our car impounded. Our house repossessed. Our reputation shat on all over. Forced to leave the home we built, the community we'd found. Move halfway across the fucking country in search of a place to settle down and try to rebuild, restart from fucking scratch. Yeah. Yeah, I know… I should be glad I'm not in prison, or buried in a potter's field somewhere, like most traitors to the crown are. But fuck it… I thought we had a chance. A chance to make amends, like Carissa was doing. To prove that while our method was wrong, our hearts were in the right place. That we were, and still are, true patriots!"

"And now this… fucking THIS…" Bayloupe sniffled, her voice becoming raspy with the outpouring of her emotions. "I start to think, maybe life IS looking up. Work isn't glamorous, but it's steady. I'm not selling myself in back alleys to make ends meet. There's this amazing, incredible, fucking hot guy I'm totally into, and he seems to be into me. We go through some tough shit together, and things start looking good. Real good. We even make ourselves official, for the first time in my fucking life, a real fucking boyfriend who isn't fucking renting me! I'm on top of the fucking world. And then… this…" She shook, almost like she was shivering to death in the cold. "This…" Her voice came out caught between a sob and a broken chuckle.

"Forging a fucking Blood Oath." She said softly, as if marveling at the audacity of the idea. "Sure. I thought about it, back in the day. Every artificer does. It's a fucking golden goose. Crack that bitch and you're an instant fucking multi-millionaire. You can name your fucking price. But it's too hard. Way too fucking hard. And they come down on you like a ton of bricks if they even think you're trying that shit. It ain't worth it. Everyone knows that. But that gods be damned fake is so fucking good even I'm starting to feel like I made it. For fuck's sake!" She groan-chuckled again, a wracking, unpleasant noise. "Heh. Guess the least I can say is that whoever wants me fucking dead, is a real fucking pro. Guess that's… some solace."

"Oh gods… I'm so fucking dead." Bayloupe mumbled despairingly. "It's over. No way out of this one. Everything I struggled for, bled for, fucked for… its all for nothing, now."

"No." Accelerator spoke for the first time since joining her. It wasn't much, but it was strongly said. A vehement denial.

"Yes. Yes, I am dead. Dead or as good as. Don't try to sugarcoat this. That bullshit is beneath you. I am totally fucked here. Even if they don't kill me, they're going to send me away, throw me out of the place I love, maybe separate me from my little sisters. For good. I'll never be able to get a job as a Magician again, no matter where I go. Exiled from your home nation for serial treason? That's a rep you don't shake. Nobody wants a person like that doing work for them. Probably won't be able to get any other legitimate job either. Guess it'll be back to spreading my legs in cheap hotels for cheaper men, and back alley suck and fucks for coffee money again." Bayloupe lifted her face just enough to display a death's head grin on her face, her eyes red, bloodshot and almost unblinking.

"No." Accelerator repeated, even more strongly this time, a tinge of irritation entering his tone.

"Oh… yeah. I guess I can come live with you, huh? Another fucking freeloader, hanging around the place, mooching off you and Yomikawa. A live-in babysitter for Last Order and Worst. Pay my rent in your bed." Bayloupe snorted in rejection. "No. That's not me. I'm no one's dependent, you understand me? Not even yours. Especially not even yours. And I'm not mingling my living expenses with our relationship. No fucking way am I doing THAT! You're too good for that. You don't deserve that kind of baggage. You don't deserve the way I'd be holding you back…"

"Shut up." Now Accelerator was legitimately annoyed. He hated self-pitying bullshit, all the more so because he'd indulged in some of it himself in the past. He reached out and grabbed her by the shoulder and gave her a tug. And then again when she failed to meet his eyes. "Look at me. Fucking look at me." He demanded, and slowly, Bayloupe raised her face, looking through her own sodden fringe of hair at him.

"You're better than this. Snap the fuck out of it. Wake up. Bayloupe." Accelerator grimaced as he fought to get out the words he wanted to say. "Shit's bad. But you're not alone. I'm not going to let this happen to you."

"So, I should just wait for you to save me? Wait for my amazing boyfriend to make it all better for me?" Bayloupe retorted bitterly. "Fuck you. I didn't ask to be your damsel in distress. Don't fucking humiliate me like that, please…"

"I'm not a fucking Hero." Accelerator replied with a snort and an exasperated roll of his eyes. "I… can protect people. Some people. Sometimes. But saving people? Really saving them? I can't do that. I've never been able to do that. I'm the one getting saved, all the time. That damn Hero. Last Order. You. Each of you has saved me, in lesser or greater ways." He looked away, his face flushing with heat, and his voice lowering into a growl of annoyance. "I'll protect you. If someone tries to attack you, I'll fucking destroy them. But this problem… I can't destroy a whole fucking country. Well, I can. But it won't help. It won't save you if I do. The only one that can save you, is you. Well, and the fucking Hero, I guess. But I'd prefer not to call him if I can avoid it."

"Afraid I might fall for him too, if he did?" Bayloupe's tone wasn't a patch on her normal teasing one… but it was better than her raw despondency at least.

"Heh. Not fucking likely. You know you can't get enough of me. He'd never measure up." Accelerator smirked with his usual confidence.

"You are my number 1 choice alright." Bayloupe leaned her head on his shoulder, her horn digging into his skin a bit, but like the water, it was a discomfort he could ignore.

"Damn right. This is a one-way road we're on. No turning around allowed." Accelerator shifted his grip from her near shoulder, to her far one and just a little bit, pulled Bayloupe against his side. It felt cheesy to him, and uncomfortable, and awkward. But with his arm around her shoulders, he didn't have to say anything more at least. And that was good. He'd said enough. Hopefully.

It was a long time before they got up to turn the shower off. But at least it wasn't cold for either of them, despite the water's temperature…

Xxxx

 **A couple hours later, Earl Blackpoole's Estate**

"His Lordship will see you now." The manservant, dressed in a heavily starched and sharply pressed butler's uniform, said diffidently. The man stood in the opened door of the antechamber that Loec had been directed to about half an hour before, shortly after he arrived at the estate to update the Earl on the matter regarding the massacre in the dockyards two days prior. Loec looked up from where he had his staff held across his lap, where he'd been stroking the polished black wood and idly making the colors in the focusing crystal shift through his spectrum of powers to pass the time, he nodded and rose.

The manservant was already moving on to other duties, as Loec was a relatively frequent visitor to the estate and had even lived there as a guest of the Earl for a time during his teenage years, after he'd lost his prior living arrangements. He knew his way around, and knew the Earl's habits, so he knew where to go now that he had been granted an audience. Loec made his way down the halls from the antechamber towards the Earl's morning chambers. Normally the Earl would break his fast outside on the veranda, but the weather was inclement, with the sky full of brooding grey clouds, heavy with occasional showers of cold rain, so his patron and boss would be indoors instead. Reaching the doors to the particular sitting room/study that the Earl favored for mornings, Loec opened the door and strode in without knocking, as he had already been invited.

As expected, the Earl was sitting at the desk, his comfortable leather chair half turned towards the wide picture windows that gave a view out across the rolling lawns and gardens and carefully tended forests that took up much of the land of the estate. There was a tray with the remnants of a fine English breakfast on it, as well as a tall mug of strong coffee, on the desk, which was otherwise mostly uncluttered except for knick-knacks and small items of personal memorabilia. This was a leisure space, not a business office, a place to greet friends rather than employees.

Of course, Loec was an employee more than he was a friend… the Earl had taken him in during a time of great personal need, and he was forever in his debt for that, but there was no real closeness to their relationship beyond that of faithful Magister and generous Earl. Loec enjoyed a fair measure of the Earl's trust, but that was solely due to his exemplary record on the job. He sketched a quick bow in the Earl's direction, as his patron turned from his contemplation of the estate to regard him. "Milord." Loec gave the brief courtesy in a neutral tone of voice.

The Earl was a man in his early sixties, neither fat nor thin, not tall nor short, but average in most respects, almost forgettable really, aside from his cold grey eyes and steel grey hair that was meticulously cared for, pulled back in a short ponytail down his upper back. His skin and features were a little worn by time and weather, but there was a vital light still in his eyes. He was dressed in a deep burgundy velvet lounging robe trimmed with black ermine furs, tied at his waist. Rings of gold with settings of sapphire and ruby glittered on his fingers.

"My Magister. What news do you bring me this morning?" The Earl inquired, waving his hand idly to dismiss Loec's show of formality.

"Your county is largely peaceful, my lord. Aside from the usual small troubles, there have been no major incidents since the killings at the dockyard." Loec answered, with a brief, proud smile. As well he might, since as the Magister of Blackpoole, it was his primary duty to ensure that all the various Magic side individuals and Cabals in the county were behaving themselves and keeping their noses clean, both in mundane and magical terms. And Loec was very good at his job, as there had not been a major magical incident in any part of Blackpoole county since he had been invested as the Magister several years ago. Well, aside from the killings at the dockyard. And though tragic, and a bit of a stain on his record, all things considered, Loec would gladly take the loss of reputation for the chance at revenge at long last!

"In regard to those killings, there has been a development." Loec went on, frowning because he was legitimately troubled by it. "I interviewed her, and she was unexpectedly forthcoming. I barely even had to use my Shield of Blue to ease the truth out of her, she was eager to cooperate. Outraged even. She claimed self-defense… and despite myself, I found her argument compelling. My lord. She presented me with a Blood Oath, that was targeting her and her Cabal. Completely authentic, as far as I could tell. I passed it on to the relevant authorities of course. Seeing that murdering bitch get what's coming to her is one thing, but this… this could be a matter of national security! If Mundane criminal groups start creating, or God forbid using, Blood Oaths…"

"Calm yourself, my Magister." The Earl interrupted Loec's train of thought, patting the air with one hand as he took a sip from his mug of coffee. "It is too early for hysterics. This is unexpected, yes, but it is not the setback you fear."

"Milord?" Loec was confused, because as far as he could see, this was disastrous. Ever since he had become aware of New Light, once they had been thrust into the national limelight, such as it was, for their part in the troubles regarding Princess Carissa, he had been almost consumed by his desire for vengeance upon them. The girls… those ungrateful bitches… who had ruined his young life, traumatized him and brutally murdered the man who had been his father in all but blood. He had long thought them gone, disappeared, lost from all hope of retribution for their crimes, but now God was smiling upon him, serving them up to him in a time and a place when he had the means and the authority to finally make them pay for what they had done!

All he had needed was a pretext, a causus belli, something to use to bring to bear the force of his authority, backed by all the might of the entire UK government. He wanted to do this right after all. Not some petty vengeance, not some back-alley payback, as satisfying as that might be. But it wouldn't be right. It wouldn't be Justice. Simply ambushing and killing them in a magical duel would be far too gentle, too quick and painless. Not to mention that would make him the bad guy. It would bring him down to their level.

But annoyingly, that smug twat Bayloupe and her whiny, backstabbing bitch friends, Floris, Lancis and Lessar, had managed to keep their noses more or less clean after relocating to Blackpoole. He had been sure that Lessar at least would do something to land New Light in a tough spot… that little brat had been a born troublemaker, even back when he was learning to change her diapers under Master Blackwood's direction, a different lifetime ago. Lancis was too good natured and introverted to cause problems, and Bayloupe generally too smart and cool-headed. Floris had a tendency towards overconfidence and easily held stupid grudges over the most trivial bullshit, so she had been another possibility for getting into trouble, but had managed to avoid doing so, thus far.

Loec knew them all well. Their personalities, their flaws, their strengths, their little quirks, their secret fears. They had, after all, been basically his younger sisters for a period of time during his early teenage years. When he had gone by a different name, and life had been rosy and wonderful, and he had still been innocent to the unfairness of the world. None of them were true blood family of course, as they were all orphans taken in by Master Blackwood's generosity and loving care, but as his chosen cadre of apprentices and helpers, Loec had always fondly imagined a certain bond between them. How foolish he had been back then.

The incident with Sharkey's gang at the dockyards had thus seemed heaven sent. His agents and paid spies, always watchful over Bayloupe and the other members of New Light whenever they were abroad in Blackpoole city and its nearby environs, had noticed the leader of New Light heading down to the docks for a meeting with some of the city's more well-known disreputable citizens. Loec had intended to sweep in at the end of the meeting and catch Bayloupe making some sort of deal with the Mob. That would have been more than enough to give him the excuse needed to bring her in and start his revenge on the right foot. But while he was still gathering his forces for the raid, he had received reports of a considerable fracas taking place inside the warehouse. By the time he had managed to get everything organized and in place, the fracas was over, and Bayloupe had escaped. However, while she might have slipped his grasp initially, she had left behind a bloody slaughterhouse in her wake, with the entire gang smeared, smashed, eviscerated and even torn limb from limb… a gory spectacle that had turned even his hardened stomach at times to behold!

Of course, he had always known she was a killer, ever since he had watched helplessly as she struck down Master Blackwood from behind during an important ritual spell. Master Blackwood had been entirely helpless to defend himself, caught within the throes of the spell, as had Loec himself, lending his aid to the Master's efforts to commune with a fragment of the Divine, the first time he'd been given so weighty a task. And on the cusp of success, Bayloupe had brought it all down in blood and screams and torn flesh and smashed bones as she stabbed and beat Master Blackwood into a broken mess, right in front of him! Like a wild beast, like a fucking rabid animal!

Her demonic rage had rendered her vulnerable though, and after breaking free from the unspooling tatters of the Spell of Communion, Loec had been about to make her pay for killing their adopted father, throttling her with his bare hands. But then the other three, who SHOULD have been securely locked in their dormitory for the night, had come out of nowhere, wielding mop handles and broomsticks, and had roundly beaten him into semi consciousness before he could muster the heart to strike back at his much-adored little sisters…

"The Blood Oath was a fake, Magister." The Earl's words cut through Loec's recollections like a hot knife through steam, parting the haze of his memories and snapping him back into the present. He felt his jaw drop, as the true impact of what the Earl had said hit home in his brain.

"A… a fake? A fake? FAKE!?" Loec put a hand to his mouth and face to stifle his sudden urge to cackle in furious comprehension. "A fake Blood Oath… now I understand… she was always the best of us at artificing…"

"Indeed. I have it on good authority that it wasn't until the document was personally inspected by a Crown Inquisitor that the falsehood was detected. You should not blame yourself for not catching it, Magister. Only a true expert would have been able to notice the difference." The Earl said reassuringly.

"I should have known better! I was just so shocked to see her produce one like that, especially under the influence of my Shield of Blue. I didn't detect any falsehood at all. The perfect alibi. No Mage tribunal in the land would fault her for killing those criminals if they had tried threatening her with one of those. The ultimate shield against consequences, even for a former traitor against the Crown." Loec sighed heavily, a mingling of relief and begrudging admiration for well-played gambit.

"Your Color magic is strong and flexible, Magister. But it is still a newer theory, not well explored or established and codified, unlike more mainstream spell theories. It is to be expected that there may be some instability and inconstancy with your spell effects until you can get a proper Grimoire on the subject put together." The Earl shrugged the matter away. "Unfortunately, not all is yet well. Despite being caught in the act of falsifying a Blood Oath, the witch has managed to earn herself a temporary stay of punishment."

"WHAT!?" Loec was flabbergasted at that revelation. "How is that possible?! She was caught… caught red handed, falsifying one of the most sacrosanct documents in the UK, trying to use it as justification for murder! They should have sent her to the Tower for interrogation and execution, immediately! She is a murderer, a traitor, and a falsifier of crown certified documents!"

"Calm yourself, Magister. Histrionics and hysterics do not help." The Earl commanded in a colder tone of voice. "The official word is that the Crown needs time to fully verify the Blood Oath. Apparently, there was some small doubt raised as to whether Bayloupe really created it. Some sort of quibble regarding the age of the mana-weave signature… I don't understand it myself. Something very technical and obscure."

"And unofficially?" Loec frowned heavily, as that sounded like a very minor point of contention, to say the least. There had to be something more to it than that.

"Unofficially, I have it on good authority that the Queen granted the stay of punishment as a favor for that Esper boy staying with the witch. Apparently, he is much in her favor for his actions during the troubles with the 2nd Princess a year ago. It was by his word that the authenticity of the mana-signature was called into question in the first place." The Earl shrugged disdainfully at this and took another sip of his coffee.

"What the fuck!? I mean, pardon me, but has her Majesty started to go senile?" Loec winced at the statement, even though he himself had made it… Queen Elizard was a magnificent Queen, and much beloved and trusted by the people. But that just meant an obvious display of favoritism, against all common sense, like this was just the more out of character! "What does an Esper know of mana-signatures? That's a load of bollocks!"

"Likely so, but it is what it is. My ears in the Palace were not privy to the whole context of the discussion between the Queen, her daughters and the witch and her Esper boyfriend. All I managed to glean was the end result, which is a three-day reprieve for the witch, while the Queen makes up her mind on what to do." The Earl fixed Loec with his flat stare. "And unfortunately, I have more bad news on that score. This is unconfirmed but matches with what we have learned so far… it is likely that once the reprieve is over, the Queen will order the witch to be exiled, rather than imprisoned or executed for her crimes. No doubt yet more favor being shown to her foreign boyfriend."

"NO! No, that can't be!" Loec protested, his eyes wide and wild with furious despair. "She's going to get away with it!? Again? AGAIN!? Murder! Betrayal! She's going to walk off, free and clear, allowed to just go on her way and start up again somewhere else, aided and abetted by that Goddamn fucking Esper asshole!? AGAIN!?"

The Earl grimaced in sympathy. "At this point it seems all but certain, I'm afraid. Out of sight and out of mind, she'll cease to be a political problem for the Queen. Depending on where she ends up, we might still be able to exert some local pressures on her… but if she goes to Academy City with the Esper… well, we have no power there. She will be well and truly beyond our reach."

"This is a mockery of justice! This isn't right! This… this is a travesty… a fucking joke!" Loec ranted in outrage, his face flushed and his three focus crystals flaring all together with the reddish light of passion and anger.

"This is political expediency, Magister." The Earl sighed and leaned back tiredly in his chair. "There is of course a lot of pressure, especially from the 1st Princess's faction, to have the witch made an example of. A public statement of the UK's continued strength of justice and intolerance for internal weakness. But at this point, with the Blood Oath at least slightly in question, it is likely that the Queen will allow her sentiment for the Esper to influence her judgement. Exile is a harsh punishment for any loyal Briton, of course. It will be seen as acceptable by enough of the peerage and the magical community to assuage their concerns. There is little that can be done, I'm afraid. With only a single major point of evidence, and that currently in official doubt, there is just not enough leverage to overcome whatever favors the Queen owes the Esper."

"That's… that's so unfair…" Loec's tone was drained of vitality, wooden and dry.

"I know, my boy." The Earl's voice took on a tone of uncommon gentleness and familiarity. "I know you were looking forward to making her pay for what she did to good Master Blackwood…"

"No, Milord!" Loec immediately protested the unspoken insinuation. "I mean, yes, Milord. I did want to see her punished for her crimes. I do want that, so much! But this isn't about personal revenge, Milord. It can't be, if it's to be done right. She is a criminal, Milord. A murderer. A liar. I want her punished, locked away, even killed if the tribunal decides it so… but I want it not just to avenge Master Blackwood, but to keep her from hurting anyone else! She is a bad egg, a rotten soul… when people show her love and care, she takes them for all they're worth, then stabs them in the back when she has a good chance… she did it to Master Blackwood, and again to the Royal Family. And she'll keep doing it, because she keeps getting away with it! That's what angers me! That's what I can't stand!"

"I wish I had some solace for you, Magister, but alas, I am a mere Earl, and not a particularly powerful or well connected one either. The time of Blackpoole's ascendancy as the tourist capital of England is in the past. Just maintaining what I have takes all I've got, I cannot spare any influence to trying to right this wrong for you."

"It is alright, Milord. I thank you for the information and the warning as it is. I… I do not know what I might have done, if I heard about this from another source, or after the fact. I am your Magister, I have a duty to uphold the honor of my position, and your honor as my patron. Besmirching it with rash actions taken for the sake of personal feelings would be an insult to everything you have done for me in the past, Milord." Loec forced control over his emotions, and stood up straight, before giving a much deeper and more formal bow than he had opened the conversation with. "Thank you, Milord. This is… devastating news, but best it come from your lips."

"Then I suppose I shall keep you from your duties no longer, my Magister. Go, with my sympathies. Take the day off if you need it, or not. I trust that you know your tempers well enough to do what is right." The Earl waved off the bow, just as he had the first one. He began to turn his chair back towards the window, to once more contemplate his lands, the audience over with.

xxxx

For several minutes after Loec left the room, there was nary a sound, save for the barely perceptible breathing of the Earl as he stared out the window and finished off his cooling coffee.

"So, the red shrike is in the wind once more." A new voice intruded upon the silence, sliding into the quietude of the room like a whetted blade between bloodied ribs. A familiar tingle spread across Earl Blackpoole's skin, pins and needles sensation in his toes and fingers, and a sense of breathlessness, of difficulty in catching his breath. The voice was familiar to him, as familiar as a loved one's, but never failed to inflict upon him this mixture of excitement and discomfort all the same.

No door had opened, no window had been cracked, but suddenly there was another presence in the room with him. Earl Blackpoole did not turn his chair about to confront his visitor, but instead kept staring out the window at the overcast and rainy day. In the watery reflection of the glass, he could faintly make out the shape of his guest, behind him in the room. A vague impression of a figure clad in heavy robes, with a heavy cowl pulled down over the face, hiding all within a void of shadow. The robes seemed to blend in and out of the stormclouds outside, as if they weren't fully solid, though that could have just been the way the reflection appeared on the glass.

"Deacon. I am… troubled." The Earl spoke in tones of deepest respect, as his beloved religious mentor appeared to him once more in a time of need.

"And what has unsettled you so, my son?" The Deacon replied, as he glided forward towards the Earl's desk, his robes rustling across the wooden floor without any apparent sound of footsteps. Even as he got closer, there was not a single piece of the Deacon visible, just the humanoid shape of his robes and cowl. The Earl had never seen the Deacon's face, or even his hands or feet, in all the years he had known him, which had been almost the entirety of his life. "We expected Elizard to make some sort of delaying ploy, after all. The Prime Sacrifice will not be allowed to escape. You have seen to that yourself, just now, when you sent our little bird out into the wind once more. She will come to him, and regardless of the outcome, she will be ours once more, afterwards."

"Yes, Deacon." Earl Blackpoole agreed, the shivery sensation in his spine, and the tingling in his digits growing stronger as the Deacon approached him, now standing just behind his chair. Though his appearance in the window glass got if anything, less distinct, the closer he got to the Earl's chair. "It is the Esper that concerns me. He is a random variable, unexpected, unplanned for. He has already interceded upon the Sacrifice's behalf and derailed what I thought was an ironclad gambit to secure her before the Ritual begins. Even Elizard shouldn't have been able to delay with such evidence against her. But somehow this Esper found a flaw in what should have been a perfect setup… and that worries me. And his strength… even Saints speak highly of him!"

"Saints." The Deacon's voice was full of scorn for the word. "Flawed copies of an inherently flawed being, belonging to an entirely flawed God. Do not concern yourself overmuch with such things, my son. When the Ritual is complete, they will be swept aside, along with all others. Reduced to the squealing kine they all truly are."

"Of course, Deacon. But still… I don't understand Espers, and that concerns me."

"Dwell not on his heretical power, my son. Instead, consider that he is a young man, in the grip of love. All the strength in the world matters little, if one has not the freedom or willpower to use it. Or the proper target to use it upon. He won't be a problem. No mortal strength will prevail against the Truth when It arrives." The Deacon pronounced the judgement with complete finality. "However, I see that your heart remains doubtful, my son. Do not fret. To doubt is human. One day, perhaps, you will ascend to a higher state of being and no longer be plagued by it."

"I pray for such favor every day, Deacon." The Earl promised fervently.

"And your prayers are heard, my son, and communicated on, rest assured." The Deacon paused for a moment, his outline now so faint on the glass that really only the void where his face should have been was visible. "Very well. I will attend to the issue of the Esper, my son. He will not be allowed to interfere with our plans."

"Thank you, Deacon!" The Earl closed his eyes with a feeling of relief. And when he opened them again, he was once more alone. Though in a certain sense, anyone who followed the Truth was never really alone…

Xxxx

 **Just before noon, London-Heathrow International Airport, International Arrivals concourse, Baggage Claim**

 _Well, now I'm Super here, all right. No turning back now…_ A young girl, though not quite as young as she appeared at first glance, thought to herself as she leaned against a wall while waiting for her bags to come through the baggage claim system. It was a longer wait than she was used to back home… Academy City's fully automated system was much more efficient than the human staffed systems found in the rest of the world. Of course, the real point of no return had been when the red-eye flight she'd boarded in Academy City had taken off from the District 23 airport. But something about actually being on the ground in England made that sense of no-return feel much more immediate.

Kinuhata Saiai, Level 4 Offense Armor and member of ITEM, wasn't normally the sort to go racing across half the world all by herself. Academy City was her whole world and had been since a very young age for her. Like many other Child Errors, with no families outside the City to speak of, the City itself had become like a family to her. Abusive and uncaring, but family all the same. Everything she needed could be found in the City, the heart of Science, the most advanced City in the world. Her personal heaven. Her personal hell.

 _Well, almost everything I Super need anyway…_ Saiai thought grumpily, as she stared down at her phone, bringing up the offensive image that had prompted this uncharacteristic trip once more. It had been emailed to her from an unexpected source, someone that was little more than an acquaintance really, but she had no reason to doubt the veracity of the image. It had really only confirmed some of her deepest and longest held fears. Saiai's normally cute and certainly aesthetically refined face… if in ways that some idiots, like Hamazura, couldn't properly appreciate… twisted into an unattractive scowl as she looked at said picture once more, for what Super must have been the thousandth time already.

It showed two people on a couch together, one of them lying spooned within the arms of the other. The one in the rear, the big spoon position, was a sporty looking girl with a full figure, in her late teens, with healthy looking pale skin, straight shortish hair of platinum-silver hue, and bright turquoise eyes. She was wearing a football uniform, T shirt and shorts that left much of her long legs visible, and knee socks. Her most distinctive feature though was the set of cathode-ray tube type devices, two per side of her head, that rose at a rakish angle from just behind and slightly above her ears. Hearing aids, or something… Saiai had never really understood what they were, other than ugly. The girl had a big, smug grin on her face… and no surprise why!

Lying within the arms of this unworthy girl, with a scowl on his strong and attractive face, was Accelerator. Academy City's number 1 Ability User, the Master of Vectors, the Strongest. Also, the guy that Saiai was completely head over heels crushing on and had been for over a year now. And maybe even longer than that, though that got into some sticky issues she didn't like to recall too often. He was dressed in one of his usual outfits, grey slacks and a t shirt with white and black geometric patterns. His crimson eyes were glaring into the camera, and one unfamiliar with him might have thought he was pissed off or unhappy to be in his current position. But Saiai knew better. She knew him pretty well, though not as well as she would have liked to by now. Well enough to know that while he was a little displeased, probably by the photo being taken, he was NOT unhappy to be in the position he was. And that was fucking UNACCEPTABLE to Saiai!

 _That fucking bitch. I Super knew he wasn't going out of town on business. What business does he even have, outside the City?_ Saiai groused at herself for not realizing what was going on sooner. And more importantly, not taking action sooner. ITEM was on light duties for the moment, and she had plenty of free time… she shouldn't have let him get out of her sight! Of course, she didn't want to be thought of as clingy or a stalker, even if she had indulged in occasional stalking from time to time, usually at Frenda's instigation. Accelerator was not an approachable, cuddly sort after all. But the sheer disdain he projected, his badass aura, drew her like a moth to a flame all the same.

 _Bayloupe._ Saiai growled to herself, a miasmic aura of grim displeasure spreading out around her and keeping everyone else around her in the airport away from her by instinct. The name of her rival. Her enemy in the arena of love. Not the only one… Saiai knew there were other girls that thought they were worthy of Accelerator's affection. They were delusional, of course, but they existed. But Bayloupe was the chief rival, the one that Saiai considered the biggest threat, and for good reason! Bayloupe's tactics had always been exemplary, getting herself in as first Accelerator's roommate, and even as his so called "girlfriend", for the sake of her cover identity in Academy City! She'd even heard rumors that they'd shared a bed before, but she refused to believe that. Or used to… now though, it was harder to refute such things…

It would be easier if Saiai merely hated Bayloupe for her presumption and her antics. But despite the urge from time to time, Saiai could not muster that emotion for the older girl. Indeed, she found herself respecting and even admiring her. She was smart, cool of temperament, reliable in a fight, skilled within her own areas of expertise but not too proud to listen to others in their own. She was tough and brave, even in the face of overwhelming odds. She was kind and gentle to her teammates, the members of New Light, but also firm in keeping them disciplined and focused on the mission at hand. She commanded loyalty and respect from everyone that worked with her. And not even the slightest hint that she ruled through fear, unlike a certain level 5 boss of Saiai's.

Of course, Mugino was MUCH better nowadays than she had been in the past, much more of a true leader, even almost a big sister type, to the other girls of ITEM, rather than the tyrannical boss she had been originally. All that time hanging out with Kamijou had changed her, and generally for the better, though Saiai would never have said as much to her face. Or even behind her back, even if the other members of ITEM would have doubtless agreed with her.

All the same, Saiai could not help but draw parallels between ITEM and New Light, that made her a little jealous, even as she admired Bayloupe all the more. ITEM was overall much stronger in terms of combat potential, naturally. But New Light was much closer knit, a real family, founded upon love and respect and friendship, rather than thrown together by the higher ups of the City and just learning to make it work, like ITEM had. Saiai wouldn't trade her life now for anything, despite the jagged and pain filled path that had got her there… but all the same, sometimes she wondered what her life would have been like if Bayloupe, or someone with her qualities, had been her boss instead of Mugino.

But admiration or not, Saiai wasn't about to concede Accelerator to Bayloupe. No way. No fucking how. They were fucking CONNECTED, that weird fortune teller lady with the prismatically colored eyes had even said as much, when Saiai had stopped by her stall one day after stumbling over it while stalk… while checking in on Accelerator. And since there was no way that some random fortune teller on the street could know about Dark May, Saiai knew that it wasn't bullshit. There was a connection between them, an intimacy that was unique to just him and her, even if it was one that they had never really discussed. A piece of him that resided permanently within her, a thought that made her belly squirm in a mostly pleasant way when she dwelled on it late at night in bed.

Of course, she hadn't always felt so rosy regarding that subject. In the aftermath of the implantation of Accelerator's thought patterns within her brain, her life had been one of maximum suckage. Jumping up from Level 1 to Level 4 overnight would do that to you. And that wasn't even going into the actual side effects of the procedure, which had damn near killed her. Her life had been full of pain and confusion, as her brain basically had to relearn everything from the ground up. For a long time afterwards, there had been no one in all the City she hated more than Accelerator. The one that had made the experiment possible, that had fucked her up thoroughly from the inside out, and then just discarded her like trash when it was revealed she'd never really get any stronger. That this method of producing a new Level 5 was a bust just like most others.

Over time though, that hatred had faded, along with a lot of other strong emotions, as she had thrown herself into the process of survival once Dark May was deemed a failure, and she and all the other experimental test subjects were turned out on the streets… if they were lucky. She was one of the more successful experiments, so she had been able to make it on her own long enough to get noticed by the City again and put into ITEM. Most weren't so lucky, and they were swallowed by the City as surely as if it had a mouth to do it, never to be seen again. At least not in any recognizably human form. And she'd had more than her fair share of close calls, of situations that could have gone either way, and ended up with her dead, enslaved, or cut up as a science project for some fucking Kihara wannabe somewhere.

When she'd encountered him again during the course of a mission for ITEM regarding some nano-weapon that was poised to assassinate a Director of the City, Saiai had felt an instant sense of connection to him. He had flicked her away from him like a bug, of course. Threatened to kill her if she even dreamed of standing up to him in the slightest way. Truly communicated the massive gulf of power between them, so easily. But that just made her want him. A small piece of that power resided within her after all. Like called out to like. His cold disdain, his arrogant dismissal of her power, her life… the more she experienced such things, the more their link grew, the more she knew that he was the one. Not just the number one, but the One, for her.

Communicating her feelings to him had not been easy. Or particularly successful, for that matter. He allowed the occasional intimacy between them, friendship even, or at least tolerance of her presence in his orbit. He protected her in some fights. She helped a tiny bit in some others of his. She still dreamed of being in his arms, even as a building self-destructed around them and showered them with half a kiloton of rubble. The larger chunks breaking against him like they were made of loose sand, and the smaller chunks bouncing off her Offense Armor the same way. A mirrored existence. But aside from arm twisting efforts that were closer to blackmail than anything date-ish, they had never really gone out, never spent time alone together. Never held each other, or kissed, or spooned on the couch, or anything.

But he was the One, and Saiai wasn't going to concede, no matter how much of a lead Bayloupe seemed to have on her right now. She wasn't entirely sure what she was going to do, now that she had arrived in England. She really only had the faintest idea of where to go, mostly provided by Lessar, and an irritated Lessar at being confronted at Kamijou's place in the dead of night when Saiai was making her preparations for this emergency trip. But she sure as Super fucking hell was going to do SOMETHING, and make Accelerator realize at long last that it was their connection, their unique intimacy, that deserved his affection, not Bayloupe's curves and mainstream beauty and whatever else she was seducing him with!

 _I'll Super jump his bones, if I have to…_ Saiai promised herself grimly, even as she could not help but blush furiously at the thought. But this was love… it was war, and that meant no holds barred! The baggage carousel finally clunked into motion, as bags began to be deposited on the moving metal sheaves. First she would get her stuff. Then she'd find a taxi. And she'd play it by ear from there… but Saiai promised herself that tonight, this night, she'd either spend it in Accelerator's arms… or buried six feet under the cold hard ground!


End file.
